By MES Dispatch Staff
The Briefing
- Tyler Joseph O’Brien, 31, was charged Wednesday in Hennepin County District Court with first-degree assault for each of at least 18 law enforcement officers prosecutors say he targeted with gunfire.
- The nearly eight-hour standoff occurred June 9 at O’Brien’s third-floor apartment on Nicollet Avenue in south Minneapolis, a busy retail and residential corridor.
- No officers or civilians were injured, though gunfire struck a squad car and armored vehicles, according to Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt.
- O’Brien was on supervised release at the time of the standoff, following a 2022 conviction for drug and weapons possession, and is now back in state custody.
- Charges include three counts of illegal gun possession in addition to the assault counts; court records do not list an attorney for O’Brien, and his first hearing is pending.
MINNEAPOLIS — A Minneapolis man was charged Wednesday with assaulting at least 18 law enforcement officers after prosecutors say he opened fire on deputies and police from his apartment during an hourslong standoff earlier this month.
Tyler Joseph O’Brien, 31, faces one count of first-degree assault for each officer prosecutors say he targeted, along with three counts of illegal firearm possession, according to charges filed in Hennepin County District Court. The charges stem from a June 9 incident near East 28th Street and Nicollet Avenue, an area known locally as “Eat Street.”
According to the criminal complaint, four Hennepin County sheriff’s deputies went to O’Brien’s apartment around 1:20 p.m. to arrest him. After getting no response, deputies used a camera placed under the door and saw O’Brien aiming a handgun toward the entrance. As deputies attempted to disable surveillance cameras O’Brien had reportedly installed outside the unit, he began firing through the door, prompting the deputies to retreat to ground level and take cover behind a patrol vehicle.
Sheriff Dawanna Witt said O’Brien fired on three separate occasions during the standoff, discharging roughly 15 to 20 additional rounds through windows, doors and walls; law enforcement did not return fire at any point. Witt said no officers or civilians were struck, though shots hit the ground near officers and damaged a squad car and armored vehicles. Police later made phone contact with O’Brien, who made threats against officers and claimed to have a grenade, though none was recovered when he surrendered and three handguns were found inside the apartment.
County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement that responding officers exercised significant restraint and prioritized de-escalation throughout the encounter, while emphasizing the danger O’Brien’s actions posed to both law enforcement and the surrounding residential neighborhood.
O’Brien was on supervised release at the time of the standoff, following a 2022 conviction in Minnesota for drug and weapons possession tied to a 2021 arrest in Austin, Minnesota. Minnesota Department of Corrections Commissioner Paul Schnell said a warrant for O’Brien’s arrest had been issued in March after he violated the terms of his release. Court records also show O’Brien has a prior first-degree assault conviction in Nebraska. He is currently held in state Department of Corrections custody, and no attorney is listed for him as he awaits an initial hearing on the new charges.