A Minneapolis man was shot in the shoulder about 2:40 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of Fifth Street Southeast and 12th Avenue Southeast, according to police reports.

The victim, whose injuries were significant but not life-threatening, was taken to a hospital by a friend, said Lt. Greg Reinhardt of the Minneapolis Police Department.

Reinhardt said there was a party in the area that both the victim and suspect had attended.

He said the victim and the shooter had an argument and were going to fight, but the suspect shot the victim and fled the scene.

No arrests have been made, and the case is under investigation, Reinhardt said.

Nearly stolen gift shop shorts
Police caught a man attempting to steal a pair of shorts from the gift shop at the Radisson University Hotel on July 13, according to police reports.

Gift shop employees recognized the man from previous visits to the shop, after which he had been asked not to return, according to the report.

On this occasion, the man carried large plastic shopping bags into the store, and employees watched him looking at a pair of shorts and attempting to remove the tags, said Steve Johnson, deputy chief of police for the University Police Department.

“The employees challenged him when they saw him remove the tags,” Johnson said. “He dropped the shorts and ran out of the store right away.”

Officers issued the man a trespass warning on behalf of the gift shop, which means the man cannot enter the store for a year, Johnson said.

Broken gates
The wooden gate arm at a University parking lot was broken about 3:15 a.m. on July 12, according to police reports.

The report stated that the gate arms for this particular parking lot have been broken off almost every night.

The parking lot, on 18th Avenue Southeast, is a contract lot that requires a keycard for entrance, Johnson said.

He said someone might be breaking in to park in the lot without gaining keycard entrance, or it might be an act of “senseless vandalism.”

The estimated damage is $100, Johnson said.

Alarming odor at University daycare
Police officers, firefighters and officials from the environmental health and safety department and CenterPoint Energy responded to reports of natural gas odors at the University Child Care Center on Thursday, according to the police report.

The children and employees were evacuated and waited in air-conditioned buses in the parking lot while officials searched the premises, Johnson said.

They performed tests but did not find any indication of a natural gas leak, according to the police report.

The building’s roof is being repaired, so officials concluded the combination of the hot tar and the exhaust from the gas-powered machine that poured the tar was aggravated by the temperature, creating the odor, Johnson said.

Officials ventilated the building, which helped alleviate the smell, and the children and employees were allowed to re-enter the building, according to the report.

To avoid bothering the children, the roofing will now be done after the building is closed at the end of the day, Johnson said.