On the night of July 4, 2025, Mario Martinez Ramirez-Hernandez, a 26-year-old Hispanic man from St. Paul, was found unconscious in the 2700 block of Bloomington Avenue in south Minneapolis with gunshot wounds to the head and neck. Passersby flagged down firefighters at about 11:20 p.m.; he was taken to a local hospital and pronounced dead just before midnight. Investigators at the scene found evidence suggesting multiple shots had been fired, which may have been masked by nearby fireworks.

No arrests or public suspect identifications have been announced. The Minneapolis Police Department has appealed for information, and the family — who remember him as a silly, energetic artist with a big smile who contributed to a Little Earth mural and once dreamed of becoming a firefighter — has been pressing for answers and working with the state’s Missing and Murdered Indigenous Relatives office to offer a reward. The case remains open.

If anyone has information about Mario’s death or was in the Bloomington Avenue area that evening, please come forward.