The latest shooting suspect booked by Minneapolis police is not accused of gang violence or any other typical street crime. Police say a breakup with his girlfriend led him to completely crash out.
Eddie James Freeman, 23, was arrested and charged after the incident on Sept. 21. Authorities say they responded to a car crash on I-94 and Dowling Avenue shortly after 10 p.m. However, when Minnesota State Troopers approached the vehicle, they were met with immediate gunfire by Freeman, per the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
One trooper, Mark Vande Steeg, approached the scene with his sirens and light activated and put a spotlight on Freeman when he allegedly began firing at the squad car, per the CBS report. Steeg returned fire but no one was struck or injured.
Freeman then allegedly tossed the gun before officers detained him. He was also reported to have spit in one officer’s face. During their investigation, they realized Freeman wasn’t the driver of the vehicle but his girlfriend — or should we say ex-girlfriend — who was still in the car.
According to investigators, the woman explained the two were driving down the interstate when she broke the news to Freeman that she didn’t want to be a relationship anymore. She alleged he then grabbed the steering wheel and caused them to crash. Then, when he exited the vehicle, she said she heard gunshots.
Freeman has been charged with four counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, one count of first-degree assault against a peace officer and one count of fourth-degree assault against a peace officer, per the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office.
Steeg was placed on standard critical incident leave upon the incident and his use of force is being probed, the office said. Freeman is being held in Hennepin County Jail on $300,000 bond, records show.