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Duluth police shoot person in shoulder during Saturday night arrest

The suspect was transported to a local hospital and later discharged.

091420.N.DNT.Shooting
Authorities said a Duluth police officer shot a man in the shoulder near the corner of First Avenue West and First Street on Saturday night. (Kelly Busche / kbusche@duluthnews.com)

A Duluth police officer shot a person in the shoulder area on Saturday evening near the 100 block of West First Street.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the incident, which occurred when officers responded around 9:20 p.m. to a report of a physical domestic in downtown Duluth, a Sunday morning news release from the Duluth Police Department said.

An officer fired their gun, striking the suspect in the shoulder area. Authorities did not provide any details of the events leading up to the shooting and did not identify the suspect or the officer.

The suspect was transported to a local hospital for treatment, and later released into police custody, the release said.

The suspect was booked in the St. Louis County Jail on probable cause of domestic assault, but a Sunday morning update from police said that the suspect would not be charged with that crime.

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No officers were injured in the incident, according to the release.

The BCA is at the "very early" stages of its investigation.

Once the scene is processed and initial interviews are done with participants and witnesses, the BCA will release additional information, including the names of those involved, a BCA spokesperson said in an email.

Gary Hanzal was watching a hockey game Saturday night when he heard and saw police vehicles parked on the street in front of his apartment.

He alerted his daughter, Ava Hanzal, to the commotion. From their apartment, Ava Hanzal said she heard a woman yelling about her child.

“It was pretty scary,” Ava Hanzal said.

Neither heard a “blatant” gunshot noise.

The area from Spurs on First to Sammy’s Pizza, on the corner of First Avenue West and First Street, was blocked off all morning, Gary Hanzal said.

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“Down here, it’s kind of (had) a rockier thing going on,” he said. “I’ve lived here for about eight years ... and I’ve never heard it this bad.”

The immediate area has been the scene of other violent incidents in recent years.

On Aug. 12, a heavy police presence focused on the building that houses Kingsley Heights Apartments and Sammy's Pizza on the 100 block of West First Street after a man was shot in the abdomen in the alley on the west 100 block between Third and Fourth streets. Police did not report an arrest in connection with that shooting.

On Aug. 27, two men were arrested after as many as 17 shots were reportedly fired in the 100 block of West Third Street. No one was injured.

On Sept. 1, 2018, Scott Allen Pennington, 31, was shot and killed after an altercation outside Ace's on First, 113 W. First St. Jamal Tyshawn Jackson was found guilty for second-degree murder and sentenced in November of last year to 30 years in prison.

This story was updated several times, most recently at 2:49 p.m. Sept. 13 with background information about the area and quotes from a neighbor . It was originally posted at 9:59 a.m. Sept. 13.

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