Calling North Mpls. A 'War Zone,' 26 Residents Send Open Letter To Gov. Requesting State Troopers Or Nat'l Guard
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A group of north Minneapolis residents have sent an open letter to Gov. Tim Walz, calling the area a "war zone" and are requesting the Minnesota State Patrol or National Guard to assist police.
Sent Wednesday, the letter from 26 residents says they have been left to "twist in the winds of violence" for over a year, with the violence including deaths of children due to gunfire. The group says the city as a whole has seen 69 "murders" this year so far, and things are getting worse with more incidents including automatic gunfire.
"During this same time period, the Mayor and City Council have failed to do anything to protect us and our children. They have shown that they are either unwilling or unable to save us. The Minneapolis Police Department is spread too thin to help. Right now, we are left to fend for ourselves. We are not 'One Minnesota' when our children are left to be slaughtered," the letter said.
The group is calling on the governor to send "any and all available resources" immediately -- the state patrol or National Guard -- to Minneapolis to assist the Minneapolis Police Department.
Walz responded to the letter late Wednesday afternoon, saying he shares their urgency to want to improve public safety, but that the state patrol and National Guard are not a substitute for a qualified, local police department.
The ATF has been looking into an increase in altered guns in the community. Auto sears are used to turn semiautomatic weapons into fully automatic ones.
Read the Entire Letter Below:
Governor Walz & Lt. Governor Flanagan,
North Minneapolis, the most diverse part of the state, is a war zone, with a child murdered, a man killed when a barbershop was shot-up in broad daylight, a school teacher executed by fully automatic gunfire, a drive by shooting across an elementary school playground with children at recess, a bus evacuated after being shot at. All this in little more than a week. For over a year now we have been left to twist in the winds of violence, with constant shots heard, constant carjackings, constant death. This year to date the city has seen 69 murders, including young children. Yet somehow things continue to get worse, as the constant drumbeat of gunshots has now been replaced with the rumbling sound of gunfire that is fully automatic.
During this same time period, the Mayor and City Council have failed to do anything to protect us and our children. They have shown that they are either unwilling or unable to save us. The Minneapolis Police Department is spread too thin to help. Right now, we are left to fend for ourselves. We are not 'One Minnesota' when our children are left to be slaughtered.
As a teacher and loving parent, we ask you to intervene and save us from this death march that the Minneapolis City Council and Mayor have placed us on. We are begging that your humanity will reach deeply, beyond the politics, to lead us back to safety.
We are calling on you to immediately send any and all available resources, whether that be State Patrol or National Guard, to Minneapolis to assist the MPD in this time of emergency.Sincerely North Minneapolis residents, including but not limited to,
Tyler Balbuena, Sheila A. Scott, Erica Pieske, Tony Thomson, Rebecca Resch, Patricia Pieske, Buzzy Bohn, Chris Koch & Jean Hawkins-Koch, Becka Thompson, Eric Won, Chase McKay, Lauren Nicole, Amy Stech, John Richards, Dennis & Debb Wagner, Stacy Bondeson, Vanessa DeLaire, Tyler Pelischek, Clay Byington, Therese Martin & Johnny Taylor, Jeanne Torma, and Steve & Meghan Morrow