Sheriff’s office: Police shoot, kill man who opened fired on officers in Minnesota city hall

NEW HOPE, Minn. – A gunman opened fire inside a suburban Minneapolis city building Monday night, injuring two police officers before authorities returned fire and killed him, the county sheriff’s department said.

Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office chief deputy Mike Carlson said the shooting happened around 7:15 p.m. while two officers were being sworn in at the New Hope City Hall.

The newly sworn-in officers and others were leaving the city council chambers when they encountered a man armed with a “long gun,” Carlson said at a news conference.

The man opened fire and struck two New Hope police officers, Carlson said. Other officers immediately returned fire, killing the gunman, he said.

Carlson said the officers are in good condition and are expected to survive. He did not identify the gunman or disclose a possible motive for the attack, the St. Paul Pioneer Press reported.

Local media report the shooting happened as a city council meeting was wrapping up. City Hall was evacuated.

A spokesman for the sheriff’s office did not immediately return a call from The Associated Press.