Unusual Northeast Mpls murder leaves stuffed animals in its wake [PHOTOS]

Neighbors say a black Suburban raced down the street, discarding these stuffed animals and a passenger just before police arrived.

A 28-year-old woman was shot to death in her northeast Minneapolis home around 9 p.m. last night.

She lived on Stinson Parkway, near 26th Ave. NE. Police say they believe more than one suspect is responsible, but haven't yet made any arrests. Anyone with information is asked to call the MPD's tip line 612-692-8477.

Rick Maki lives three doors from where the murder occurred. He said that shortly before officers arrived at the scene, a neighbor of his "saw a black Suburban stop at the intersection, throw these stuffed animals out, and then some guy was thrown out the suburban, got up, and ran away."

Maki said his neighbor can't be sure the strange Suburban incident was connected with the murder, but the correlation between the Suburban racing down the street and police arriving on the scene suggests it was more than a coincidence. Police, for their part, believe the suspects fled the scene on foot.

"The stuffed animals ended up right around the corner from where the shooting was," Maki said. Here's a photo he snapped as officers arrived on the scene:

The neighbor described the man thrown out of the Suburban as a "younger white guy," Maki said.

Maki, who didn't know the victim, described his neighborhood as "nice and quiet." Indeed, in a news conference held hours after the shooting, MPD Second Precinct Commander Bryan Schafer said police "don't see these kinds of incidents in this area." Here's a map:

KARE 11

Police don't believe the shooting was random. Said Schafer: "I don't feel the neighborhood is in immediate danger at this point but it's still kind of early to tell." Courtesy of Maki, here's another photo of the crime scene as officers arrived:
Wednesday night's murder was the first homicide of the year in the second precinct and the sixth citywide. At this time last year, there had been 10 murders reported, meaning homicides in Minneapolis are down 40 percent this year compared to last.