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MINNEAPOLIS — A man and holding them for ransom was shot and killed in Minneapolis earlier this week.

Mikiyel D. Patton, 37, was charged with felony theft with the intent to restore only for a reward earlier this month. He was accused of taking the dogs from a home in Cannon Falls.

Patton was shot multiple times on Tuesday evening, Dec. 19, on the 900 block of Newton Avenue North in Minneapolis, according to a press release from the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office.

No arrests have been made in the shooting, as of Thursday, Dec. 21.

Investigators believed the suspects were hiding in a nearby abandoned house, according to the Minneapolis Police Department. MPD SWAT searched the abandoned residence and found it to be empty.

MPD spokesperson Aaron Rose said on Thursday that police did not believe the shooting is connected with the puppies. MPD was not aware of the whereabouts of the dogs.

The criminal complaint claims Patton put the puppies in a backpack on the morning of Dec. 2 and left the owner's residence. Patton had agreed to take care of the dogs while he stayed at the owner's house. The dogs are valued at $15,000 each.

The owner contacted the department the next day to report that Patton had posted a picture of the puppies on Facebook, the complaint says. Patton also told the owner's brother that he would only return the dogs if the owner paid him $20,000 that he was owed, the owner told police.