Warehouse District Live won’t return to downtown Minneapolis this weekend as planned following a shooting in the Whittier neighborhood that killed three people, including a police officer, on Thursday night.

Warehouse District Live is a City-run event series that turns a block of First Avenue North into a pedestrian zone with entertainment, activities, and food trucks on Fridays and Saturdays throughout the summer.

“Out of respect for the family of Officer Jamal Mitchell and the families of all the victims in yesterday’s shooting, the launch of Warehouse District Live will be canceled this weekend,” a City spokesperson said in a statement on Friday. “The City will communicate any updates regarding this event in the future.”

Minneapolis police officer Jamal Mitchell was shot while responding to a report of two people shot inside of an apartment building on Blaisdell Avenue South and later died at a hospital. The suspected shooter and another victim also died from gunshot wounds. Their identities haven’t yet been released.

Photo of Warehouse District Live last October courtesy of the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District

Warehouse District Live is scheduled every Friday and Saturday from 7 p.m. to 3 a.m. through October along First Avenue North between Fifth and Sixth streets, which was recently closed to traffic for two Timberwolves block parties. The weekly street closure will be extended to Fourth or Third streets on some weekends.

The area where Warehouse District Live takes place will close to vehicle traffic starting at noon on Fridays and reopen at 10 a.m. on Sundays.

Spearheaded by Ward 3 Councilmember Michael Rainville, Warehouse District Live started with a pilot in 2022, and then ran for a full season in 2023. The event is sponsored by the City of Minneapolis and produced by the Minneapolis Downtown Improvement District. The City budgeted $750,000 for Warehouse District Live in 2024.

The goal of Warehouse District Live is to increase public safety through public Rainville and other City officials credit Warehouse District Live with reducing serious crime in the area, including shootings, assaults, robberies, and auto theft.