Leaving work, North High grad struck by bullet in the neck in south Minneapolis shootout

A 2021 Minneapolis North graduate has a lengthy road to recovery ahead of her after being one of seven people injured when two people got into a shootout in Minneapolis' Lyn-Lake neighborhood earlier this week. 

Mykia Carpenter was leaving work around 2 a.m. Thursday when gunfire erupted and a bullet went through her neck, according to a GoFundMe campaign that has so far raised more than $25,000. The bullet damaged an artery, her trachea and vocal cords. 

According to Minneapolis police, numerous 911 callers reported that several people were shot around 12:20 a.m. on the 3000 block of Lyndale Avenue, with police arriving to a "very chaotic scene" where they located three shooting victims.

Officers were then told that at least three other shooting victims had been transported to Hennepin Healthcare. A seventh victim showed up at North Memorial Medical Center with a non-life-threatening gunshot wound.

Carpenter underwent nine hours of surgery at Hennepin County Medical Center, with doctors informing her that she faces the possibility of never being able to talk again. 

According to Fox 9, Carpenter was leaving work at Side Chick MPLS restaurant when the hale of gunfire erupted. 

"Preliminary investigation indicates that two people were shooting at each other outside of a business and numerous people were injured," police said Thursday. 

Carpenter was planning to attend college this fall with hopes of becoming a nurse. 

"She is one of the most kind and compassionate young women that I know; she is friends with all and is always the first to invite someone to the table," the fundraiser organizer wrote. 

All seven of the victims in the Thursday shooting are expected to survive, police said. 

Anyone with information about the incident is asked to provide information to CrimeStoppers by calling 1-800-222-8477, or submitting a tip online at www.CrimeStoppersMN.org.