After A Violent Weekend, Mpls. Community Members Ask For More To Be Done
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two families are now planning funerals after a violent weekend in Minneapolis, while others are questioning whether enough is being done to prevent crime.
"It's something that needs to stop as soon as possible," community and peace activist K.G. Wilson, from North Minneapolis, said.
Two separate shootings in North Minneapolis over the holiday weekend left one woman and one man dead.
Three others were hurt in the gunfire.
On Saturday night, two men were also hurt in a stabbing on the edge of downtown where police found bullet casings at the scene.
"I'm hurt for the community. I'm hurt for the children that play in this area that are terrified and I'm hurt for the families," Wilson said.
"You never know when you're going to catch a stray bullet, so I just stay inside," Wanda Feazell, from North Minneapolis, said.
Minneapolis City Council member Blong Yang says more needs to be done at the city level, like making sure there are enough police officers patrolling the area.
"There's something about certain folks within this community that needs changing and I don't know what that is," Yang said. "I certainly want us to to do a better job of being on the ground, of seeing what's happening."
Minneapolis Mayor Betsy Hodges released a statement, saying in part "let us also continue [to] do the footwork to make sure we all stay safe now and in the future."
Community leaders agree the effort starts with collaboration and discussion.
"Community leaders, politicians, everybody who has the mindset and the heart to want to see it be a safe community," Wilson said. "The safe community has to come to that table."