A memorial service for Jamal Mitchell, the Minneapolis police officer killed in an ambush last week, is scheduled for Tuesday morning at Maple Grove High School.
Law enforcement officers from near and far will be attending the 11 a.m. service at the school, 9800 Fernbrook Lane N., along with family and friends in honor of the 36-year-old Mitchell, who had been with the Minneapolis Police Department for a little over 1½ years. Mitchell lived in Maple Grove with his fiancée and their three children.
Minneapolis police said further information about the memorial will be available in coming days. Still yet to be disclosed is whether there will be a post-service procession of law enforcement or whether there will be live-stream coverage. The public can find information about the memorial service, donation opportunities and other details at www.minneapolismn.gov.
Also Thursday, Mitchell's fiancée, Tori Myslajek, commented publicly for the first time since the May 30 shooting, saying "our family is completely devastated by our recent loss. Jamal was our whole world," in a statement issued by the police department.
Myslajek added that Mitchell's "greatest joys in life were his children: Koen, 20, Jalen, 9, Kaden, 7 and little Macen, 4. Jamal and I created a beautiful life in Minnesota, and he was deeply passionate about helping and serving the community of Minneapolis.
"On behalf of our family and from the bottom of my heart, I want to thank our friends, neighbors, loved ones and the entire community for the continued support."
Mitchell was among the first officers to arrive outside the scene of a double shooting in an apartment shortly after 5 p.m. May 30. He was attempting to give medical assistance down the street from the building to two people he believed to be wounded when one of them "ambushed" him, according to Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
That person, 35-year-old Mustafa Ahmed Mohamed, was killed soon after in an exchange of gunfire with police.
Also killed in the back-to-back shootings was Osman Said Jimale, 32, of Minneapolis. He was in the apartment where the first shooting occurred. A second person wounded in the apartment has yet to be identified.
Three people were wounded outside and survived: vehicle occupant Alexander Hage, 38, of Minneapolis; an unidentified Minneapolis firefighter, and police officer Luke Kittock, who was one of two officers who shot Mohamed.
The last Minneapolis police officer shot and killed in the line of duty was Melissa Schmidt, who was wounded in a public housing complex in the Lyndale neighborhood in 2002. Minneapolis Park Police officer Mark Bedard was killed In 2007 while responding to a drive-by shooting; he was chasing a suspect on foot when he was struck by a Minneapolis police squad car, and died a week later.
