South Dakota’s Department of Criminal Investigation is investigating after a shooting involving police Tuesday evening at a Burger King near 12th Street and Kiwanis Avenue left one person dead.
It’s the fifth police shooting that’s occurred within the city since the end of March, and the seventh since October 2021. Four of those seven have involved the death of a person, according to Argus Leader reporting.
Officers with the Sioux Falls Police Department and a deputy with the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office conducted a traffic stop at about 5:40 pm Tuesday on a vehicle at W. 12th St. and S. Williams Avenue when at least one subject “engaged officers and the deputy with a firearm,” according to a press release from Sioux Falls Assistant Police Chief Nick Cook.
The release did not specify details of how the events unfolded. Sioux Falls police responded by surrounding and closing off parts of the area near the Burger King for a call about shots fired at police officers.
Law enforcement on scene “returned fire,” and one individual was pronounced dead, but details about who died and their role in the incident was not disclosed with the release.
Journalists near the scene at the time said they heard about a dozen shots fired, saw an officer with a gun drawn and also saw an ambulance leaving the area with lights and sirens blaring.
It’s unclear how many people were injured, how many officers were involved overall, how many officers may now be on administrative leave after the incident, as well as what kind of guns may have been involved.
It’s also unclear whether anyone was detained or arrested during the incident.
DCI, which typically oversees investigations shootings involving law enforcement, as well as officials with the Minnehaha County Sheriff’s Office were still on scene as of 9 pm
Witnesses on scene, including Burger King employees, say they heard at least 10 shots, and officers also brought out a K-9 to search the area as well.
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Witness recounts moments after shooting
Steven Carrillo was inside the Burger King, with his partner and three children, when the shooting happened. He said there was about 20 people inside the building, including two young teenagers who rode their bikes there to eat ice cream.
Burger King workers gave the kids frozen drinks to calm them. Carrillo’s family hid in the bathroom during the shooting, he said.
“I felt gunless,” he said. “We were in there for like an hour we didn’t even eat afterward.”
He said he’s glad the shooting happened outside the restaurant and not inside.
“I was mostly worried about my kids, man…” Carrillo said, shaking his head.
His three children range in age from 4-9 years old.
“It’s like Grand Theft Auto out here,” Carrillo recalls telling his brother over the phone after the shooting.
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Yellow police tape has cordoned off part of the area, including the drive-thru at the fast-food joint where individuals in their cars are waiting to be cleared from the scene. Carrillo, along with other witnesses, are also waiting to retrieve their vehicles from the restaurant’s parking lot. Some chose to carpool home, because their vehicles had not been released yet.
More details will be shared by Minnehaha County Sheriff Mike Milstead and Sioux Falls Police Chief Jon Thum at the daily media briefing with the Sioux Falls Police Department at 10 am Wednesday.
If anyone has information regarding the shooting or witnessed this incident, they’re urged to contact the police at 605-367-7000.
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George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism