Man accused of shooting Minneapolis neighbor arrested after fight

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – The man accused of he shoots at his neighbor According to police, a few days ago in Minneapolis, he was arrested early Monday morning after an hour-long standoff.

What’s new?

On Sunday night, police tried to arrest a man who allegedly shot and killed a neighbor who was cutting down a tree in Minneapolis.

Law enforcement surrounded his home on Grand Avenue South near 35th Street around 10 p.m., and for more than three hours, authorities attempted to negotiate with the suspect, identified as John Sawchak.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said that in addition to the SWAT team, crisis negotiators and a psychiatrist were brought in, and police even talked to Sawchak’s family. The commander explained that the SWAT team was especially cautious because, in addition to the weapons cache, he believed the 54-year-old suspect had knowledge about improvised explosives.

At approximately 1:30 a.m., Sawchak was arrested after leaving the back door of his home.

What are they saying?

“We called in dozens of officers for assistance, including members of our SWAT team, drone team, crisis negotiators and patrol, as well as command staff. I’m happy to report that after taking a series of steps, very methodically and systematically, constantly announcing and advising the person what we were doing every step of the way, the person ultimately got out of the house safely before we had to put the gas on him,” said Chief O’Hara, adding: “We identified issues of concern including firearms inside as well as knowledge of IEDs, fortunately our officers were able to peacefully arrest this individual this evening after several hours of a SWAT operation.”

Minneapolis Mayor Jabon Frey also commented on the issue, saying, “I know several people, including council members, have been pushing for us to step in immediately and do it the wrong way. I support our police officers.”

Background

Sawchak has committed a civil offense in the past. Court documents show Sawchak has an extreme risk protection order. Records show that he repeatedly threatened to kill a neighbor, threatened to shoot his sister and slashed the tire of an off-duty police officer.

The threats and acts of violence have occurred since 2016. Sawchak now faces attempted second-degree murder, assault and harassment charges after investigators say he shot and killed his neighbor, Davis Moturi.

“In this particular case, we failed the victim 100% because something like this should not have happened to him,” O’Hara previously said.

On Sunday, O’Hara apologized for his officers’ response to the situation.

“The Minneapolis police, for some reason, did not take urgent enough action to prevent this person from being shot,” O’Hara said.

Moturi’s wife, Caroline, returned home twice under police escort. She previously told FOX 9 that the lieutenant asked her to be patient with police.

“I said my husband was shot because of patience. We have been patient for over a year,” said Caroline Moturi, Davis’ wife.