Officers had responded to the area of 13th Street and 11th Avenue Northwest shortly after 6 a.m. to investigate a report of gunshots that occurred at the intersection and along Terrace Avenue, according to police. A few minutes later, Minot Central Dispatch received a report of a vehicle involved in a crash near the Minot State University Dome.

Stephens, the driver of the crashed vehicle, had been shot. Care was provided at the scene, and he was transported to Trinity Hospital, where he was pronounced dead a short time later. A male passenger also had been in the vehicle but was unharmed, Investigations Capt. Justin Sundheim said at a news conference Monday.

Police expected to receive results from Stephens’ autopsy later on Monday. No information about Stephens was released other than he had been a Minot resident for a number of years.

“At this point the investigation is ongoing. We have had tips and leads coming in all day today that all our investigators are following up on,” Sundheim said. “Thank you to the public that have reached out to us.”

Kim Fundingsland/MDN A Minot police officer uses a metal detector to search for evidence such as bullets or shells following a shooting near the intersection of 13th Street and 11th Avenue Northwest Sunday.

Multiple people have provided surveillance camera video from their homes in the area, he said. Police are continuing to ask for video or other tips from the public.

“We do believe that there are multiple people in our community that know what happened. We do ask them to reach out to us, even if it is anonymous. There’s a number of different ways to contact us – through our website, through social media,” Sundheim said. “We are definitely willing to listen to anybody that wants to come forward and provide us with information.”

Police determined the shooting began north of the 13th Street and 11th Avenue intersection.

“We do believe that it started probably in the 1700 block of Terrace Drive, and they continued to travel southbound towards that intersection. What we do believe is that there was a vehicle that was following Mr. Stephens, and that there were shots fired towards that vehicle,” Sundheim said.

He said the department is investigating a number of people regarding potential involvement in the incident but has no suspects in custody. However, he reiterated the department’s statement released Sunday that there is no danger to the public.

“We have every reason to believe this was targeted,” he said. “We do not have any indication that it was random.”

The police K-9 unit in the area following the incident was not searching for any suspect but was helping locate possible ballistics, he added.

Sundheim said police are not discounting the possibility of a relationship to previous gun violence in that area. Last November, gunshots were fired into an apartment building in the 1100 block of 11th Avenue Northwest. He said at this time police are not making a connection but are continuing to investigate. He noted the incident shouldn’t alarm residents of the area that the neighborhood is any more dangerous than other parts of the city.

The department’s investigation into the latest incident has been constant and will continue to be so, Sundheim said.

“Our whole investigative office has been working solely on this case, ever since the report, and we’ll continue to work on that case specifically until these tips either are exhausted or until we get somebody into custody,” he said.