Minneapolis Self-Defense Class Enrollment Increases 15% Due To Surging Crimes, Including Carjackings
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) - Minneapolis Police say they arrested another carjacking suspect on Tuesday morning.
Monday night, the city saw a string of six attempted carjackings in less than two hours.
The surge of carjackings and crimes has urged many to sign up for self-defense classes. At Krav Maga Minneapolis, enrollment went up by 15%.
"Often somebody will be either threatened, or have an incident happen and it'll scare them, and they realize they need to learn something to help protect themselves," said co-owner Gail Boxrud.
Instructors at the self defense studio are certified to teach law enforcement, but have focused on mainly on teaching civilians.
While it takes skills to physically defend oneself, Boxrud never encourages people to fight for things.
"Don't argue with suspects, don't chase the suspect down, they're dangerous and unpredictable," said Minneapolis Inspector Katie Blackwell.
RELATED: 6 Armed Carjackings Reported Within 5 Hours In South Minneapolis
Blackwell says the city has seen roughly 25 carjackings since Friday, and only two suspects have been arrested since. In total, this year the city has seen about 460 carjackings.
"Just because someone carjacked you, if you were a victim of a carjacking and then we caught that individual a week later, it might not be the carjacking suspect, they may have handed that car off," she said.
That's why witnesses are key. Blackwell says often times vehicles are just dumped. The city is seeing both juveniles and adults committing the crimes.
MORE: 'I'm Afraid': Man Carjacked Twice In Recent Weeks Left Shaken After Being Held At Gunpoint
"To suspects out there, this is not a game, this is traumatizing people," said Blackwell.
St. Paul Police say the majority of people committing similar crimes in their city are juveniles. They say most stolen vehicles end up back with the owners.
Tips for keeping yourself safe and protected:
Stay aware of your surroundings.
- Stay aware of your surroundings.
- When sitting in your vehicle, keep your doors locked. If you feel unsafe, relocate.
- Take preventative measures: In addition to the carjacking, wallets and phones are typically stolen as well. the security code for the phone is often demanded. In some cases, financial apps are accessed, and money transferred from accounts.
- Avoid carrying large sums of cash.
- Immediately report any lost or stolen credit or debit cards.
- Ensure that all apps containing personal information or access to finances are individually secured with security measures that are different than that of your phone.
- If you become the victim of this type of crime:
- If you are confronted by an assailant(s), remain calm, do not argue.
- Along with a description of the suspect(s), try to remember any unique physical characteristics (scars, limp, acne, teeth, manner of speech, etc...).
- Never pursue fleeing assailants - provide information and suspect(s) descriptions to responding officers.
- If video surveillance equipment is available, please save a copy of the incident for investigating detectives.
- If approached by a witness to the incident, request contact information.
- Contact 911 immediately and remain on scene, if possible. If your vehicle or phone has tracking ability, communicate that with the dispatcher.
- Look out for one another.
- Call 911 immediately if you witness a crime in progress.
- Be sure to pay attention to specific details like license plates, vehicle damage, suspect(s) descriptions, and direction of travel. Provide this information to responding officers.
- If you have video surveillance, provide a copy, or contact information to the police.
- If you wish to remain anonymous, contact Crime Stoppers: http://crimestoppersmn.org or 1-800-222-8477.