🚔 What we know about the recent shootout(s) at 34th and Lake
A forced eviction is pending for the promoter who has been throwing large, unlicensed parties associated with the incidents.
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Gunfire erupted in the early morning hours on Sunday near 34th and Lake Street, which for the past several months has been the site of multiple late-night incidents tied to large, unlicensed parties in a nearby building. No one was injured in the shooting, but neighbors are anxious to quell the parties and the violence they’ve attracted.
A party promoter named Vincent Moore moved into the easternmost commercial unit of 3318 East Lake in August and has thrown frequent parties as the “After Hours Club.” He’s racked up complaints associated with the unruly gatherings, which on multiple occasions have coincided with late-night gunshots on the surrounding blocks. While city regulators have issued multiple violations for selling liquor without a license and keeping late-night hours — culminating in an order to close by the end of this month — the activity has continued.
On Saturday evening, multiple neighbors alerted police about another event getting started as partygoers began arriving in the Napa Auto Parts parking lot, but police did not respond. According to later official estimates, the gathering grew to about 200 people as it stretched into early Sunday morning.
Around 3:30 a.m., witnesses reported hearing a loud argument followed by a volley of gunfire that began at the parking lot and made its way through an alley and south on 35th Avenue. Neighbors reported the sound of at least two guns, one of which sounded like an automatic rifle based on the rapid fire.
At least three houses and multiple vehicles were hit, leaving a trail of bullet casings and shattered glass. One reader sent this image of a bullet that pierced the ceiling of his upstairs landing. At another house, a bullet shattered a bathroom window.
Longtime building owner Ira Kipp has had it up for sale since June. According to a neighbor who spoke with Kipp, the landlord said Moore had leased the space under the pretense of operating a recording studio and had passed a background check. Councilmember Jason Chavez, who represents the area, wrote that Kipp is in the drawn-out legal process of evicting the tenant “since they will not leave voluntarily” and that the Hennepin County Sheriff would be conducting a forced eviction next week. An auto mechanic who has lived in the building's attached apartment for 13 years said he hasn’t seen anyone associated with the nightclub since the shooting, and that he hopes the eviction will happen as planned, since the activity is scaring his family and customers.
Neighbors in the vicinity have organized to speed the process along, reviving 2020-era text threads to coordinate a pressure campaign on local officials, and are meeting today to discuss their next steps.
An MPD spokesperson said they have not made any arrests. Police Chief Brian O’Hara said they've increased police patrols in the area, and Councilmember Chavez indicated that a police camera will be placed in the area until the eviction occurs.
Update 10/30/24: Councilmember Jason Chavez reports that the Hennepin County Sherriff's department carried out the eviction and the landlord secured the property.