A man is in critical condition after being shot on Interstate 94 in Minneapolis on Saturday afternoon, and police are still searching for the gunman who fled the scene by car. Officers responding to a report of gunfire around 4:38 p.m. found the victim, an adult male with a gunshot wound to the abdomen, on northbound Interstate 35W at 11th Avenue — even though the shooting itself happened on a different stretch of freeway entirely.
According to 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS, police determined the shooting actually occurred on eastbound I-94 between Portland Avenue and Chicago Avenue, with the suspect believed to have fled the area still driving eastbound on I-94. Investigators say the shooting was captured on video, and officers shut down portions of the interstate afterward to collect evidence from the roadway. The victim was taken to a local hospital, where he remains in critical condition, police said.
The gap between where the attack happened and where the wounded man was ultimately found underscores how quickly a freeway shooting can unfold. As reported by CBS News, the gunshot wound to the victim's abdomen was serious enough that he was rushed for immediate treatment after being located roughly two miles from the actual crime scene.
Specialized Unit and State Troopers Respond
Minneapolis' Firearm Assault Shoot Team, known as FAST, responded to the scene alongside Minnesota State Patrol troopers to investigate, according to FOX 9. The unit was created specifically to treat nonfatal shootings with the same investigative urgency typically reserved for homicides.
The city launched FAST in May 2026 with $1.7 million in funding, aiming to intervene quickly in nonfatal shootings before they spiral into retaliatory violence, per the City of Minneapolis. Before the unit's creation, nonfatal shootings were often handled by overloaded homicide detectives or patrol officers, according to Bring Me The News. Minneapolis has been pushing to raise its clearance rate on these cases, which sat below 50% before FAST began operating; KARE 11 reported in late July that the city had already logged 123 nonfatal shooting incidents with 138 total victims through the year, as MPD targets a 60% closure rate by year's end.
How Traffic Cameras Helped Trace the Scene
Investigators were able to pinpoint the actual shooting location on I-94 despite the victim turning up blocks away on I-35W, a capability tied to the extensive highway camera network across the Twin Cities. Minnesota operates more than 850 live traffic cameras statewide, including continuous monitoring by the state transportation department along the shared I-35W and I-94 corridor and downtown Minneapolis interchanges, according to TrafficVision.Live.
This was not the only serious shooting Minneapolis police were juggling that weekend. KARE 11 reported that officers were also investigating an overnight shooting near 41st Avenue North and Lyndale Avenue North that left a woman in critical condition, illustrating how MPD was managing multiple critical gun violence cases across precincts at once. Two days earlier, Hoodline reported on a shooting near Loring Towers that left six people wounded, including two officers.
A Corridor With a History of Unsolved Violence
Saturday's shooting adds to a troubled pattern along the I-94 corridor. Hoodline previously reported on the unsolved 2023 killing of Omarai Engle on I-94, a 24-year-old fatally shot while driving westbound before his vehicle crashed near the Dowling Avenue exit; MPD renewed public appeals for tips in that case as recently as February. Separately, MN CRIME reported Friday that a convicted felon was charged following an unrelated I-94 incident involving a loaded stolen handgun and a DWI refusal, part of a broader series of firearm and traffic enforcement actions along the corridor over the same weekend.
What Remains Unknown
Investigators have not said whether Saturday's shooting was a targeted attack or the result of a road-rage confrontation, and it remains unclear whether the suspect's vehicle has been identified through additional traffic camera footage. The victim's current medical status beyond the initial critical designation has not been updated by police.
Minnesota law treats freeway gun violence as a serious felony matter. Under Minnesota Statute § 609.66, Subdivision 1e, recklessly discharging a firearm from or after exiting a motor vehicle toward a person, an occupied vehicle, or an occupied building carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison and a fine of as much as $20,000, according to legal analysts. Minneapolis' approach to these cases has drawn comparisons to St. Paul and Ramsey County's own nonfatal shooting task force, which Axios Twin Cities reported was linked to homicides in that jurisdiction falling from 33 in 2024 to 15 in 2025 — a trend city officials hope FAST can replicate as the investigation into Saturday's shooting continues.
