After widespread impromptu fireworks begins massive cleanup efforts
MINNEAPOLIS -- Troublemakers launched fireworks into crowds, cars and buildings for several hours in downtown Minneapolis last night. At the same time, someone shot several young people in a riverfront park.
Even where the situation was more under control in the metro area, the July 4th festivities left behind quite a lot to clean up.
In Fridley, where Tuesday morning revealed an incredible mess, city officials actually told WCCO that this year represented an improvement from the previous year, thanks to extra patrol from police for illegal fireworks use.
The cleanup though is costing Anoka County taxpayers about $865.
In St. Louis Park, a Hennepin County crew cleaned up a city-planned event in Aquila Park. A crew member said they are finding a lot of alcohol containers, a lot of soda containers, and a surprising amount of leftover food items, partially eaten.
In Minneapolis, though, the cleanup was a lot more substantial, and involved police investigators. Mayor Jacob Frey referred to the melee at Boom Island and near the Stone Arch Bridge "a substantial case of whack-a-mole."
Frey and Minneapolis Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman responded Tuesday to the multiple reports of violence, including teenagers caught blasting fireworks from cars while speeding through the Mill District, and a mass shooting event that injured eight people at Boom Island.
The city received more than 1,300 911 calls over seven hours, the same number from an entire day last spring. Residents say that fireworks were audible as late as 3:30 a.m. or beyond. No arrests have been made in any of the Minneapolis violence.