Minneapolis Mother Asks For Help Finding Driver Who Shot At Car With Kids Inside On New Year's Eve
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - A north side mother is counting her blessings after someone opened fire on her car with her three children inside.
It happened along a stretch of Highway 252 near Highway 610. One of the bullets came to rest just inches away from where her children were sitting.
It was New Year' Eve, shortly before 11 p.m., when Latora Thompson and her three children were heading home after spending time at her in-laws.
"We were coming off 610 and I wanted to get over, I tried to get over but the car beside me wouldn't let me get over," said Thompson.
Thompson says she just stayed in her lane and tried again to get over into the next lane.
"So I sped up and there were like trying to like race with me, kind of. So I was able to get ahead of them, and I put my blinker on and I got over so once I got over then they got on the other side of me which was my passenger side. They shot four bullets inside of my car," Thompson said.
She rushed home only to realize how close her family came to tragedy.
Thompson said one of the bullets ricocheted and hit a light in the back, so her blinker isn't working. Another hit a corner in the back of the car and one hit the back seat.
"I had two kids sitting on the side of this middle seat," she said.
Thompson says she's frustrated because highway cameras were not zoomed out and did not capture any of the action.
"The hardest thing is the fact that they telling me I got to have a license plate to be able to help me as far as finding the car and who owns the car and to take steps from there. It's really frustrating because who has time to get a license plate if your life is in danger," said Thompson.
Thompson hopes someone on that stretch of highway New Year's Eve saw the shooting and will speak up so no one has to endure being shot at for trying to change lanes.
Thompson says the shots came from an older model, a red Chrysler 300.
The Minnesota State Patrol says it has assigned detectives to the case and are looking into finding the person responsible.