Officials have released the name of the man they arrested in connection with the death of four women and one teenage girl Friday night in South Minneapolis.

Derrick Thompson, 27, of Brooklyn Park, was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of murder Monday, according to a Minneapolis police spokesman.

According to court records, Thompson has a string of convictions in Minnesota including fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle, driving after his license was suspended, drug possession, weapons possession without a permit and giving a false name to law enforcement.

According to KSTP-TV, court records also show that Thompson has a felony conviction from a 2018 hit-and-run that injured a woman in Montecito, Calif., near Santa Barbara.

He is the son of former state Rep. John Thompson, DFL-St. Paul.

John Thompson, a first-term lawmaker representing the East Side, was defeated in the DFL primary last August in the wake of a number of controversies, which included questions about his official residence following a July 2021 traffic stop in St. Paul. In April 2022, then-St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell accused Thompson of abusing his official position after he allegedly tried to bully officers during a traffic stop involving his daughter.

On Monday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara also released a statement saying the police department is investigating after learning a Minneapolis city official released the name of the suspect to the media, and that Metro Transit surveillance video of the crash had been leaked.

“Both are very concerning,” he said, noting an internal review will be done to determine the source.

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Poster Comment:

No wonder the released video was causing such a panic.