Deadly teen shooting draws attention to "notorious" Brooklyn Park neighborhood
BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. — A deadly teen shooting has drawn attention to a neighborhood that police say is "notorious" for violent crime.
A 16-year-old boy was killed Tuesday in Brooklyn Park. Another 16-year-old boy was also shot and remains in critical condition. The boy was later identified as Diriye Abdi Muhumed.
"Very tragic, whether they were adults or juveniles, but it seems to hit differently when we're talking about 16-year-olds," said Inspector Elliot Faust with the Brooklyn Park Police Department.
RELATED: 16-year-old killed in Brooklyn Park shooting, another 16-year-old badly hurt
Faust says his heart dropped even further when he found out the shooting happened near 73rd and Zane avenues. He says the intersection has been a "trouble spot" where violent crime has been "out of control."
Officers have intensified efforts in the neighborhood over the last year or so, including partnering with Tekoa Cochran and The Village BP, a violence interrupter group the city contracts for $600,000.
"It's about building relationships, providing resources and things like that," Cochran said. "Feeling that sense of community, bringing back that pride in a sense of community."
Cochran says The Village BP collaborates effectively with Brooklyn Park Youth Outreach and A Mother's Love.
Police say crime near the intersection has decreased 26% in the past year. Violent crime is down 52%, a drop that Faust says is rare.
The decrease becomes even more of an outlier when you consider violent crime in Brooklyn Park overall has ticked up between 10% and 12%, according to Faust. Tuesday's shooting is a stark reminder of that.
"We know we made an impact," Faust said. "We just wish that this wouldn't have happened."
Cochran and police also give credit to the Huntington Place apartments, a complex at the intersection that has long had a reputation as a source of violence.
Dr. Eric Anthony Johnson, the president and CEO of Aeon, the owner of Huntington Place, says they've invested millions of dollars in the property.
"A perimeter fence, ongoing private security, partnership with the residents, police, the city," Johnson said. "You walk the site, you can start to feel the sense of a community that's starting to transform."
On Wednesday, police served two high-risk search warrants in what they describe as on-going investigations. The first was served at about 4:40 p.m. on the 3600 block of Brookdale Drive, where officers "safely detained" an adult and four juveniles.
The second warrant was served at 10 p.m. a couple miles southwest on the 7200 block of Zane Avenue. Police say two adults and two juveniles were also detained at the scene.
It is not clear if these arrests were in connection to Tuesday's shooting.
Police are still searching for multiple people in connection to that deadly shooting. Police urge anyone with information to contact them.
Cochran says The Village BP is looking for people to join their team. For more information, go to their website.