Minneapolis Police: Youths in Dinkytown aimed fireworks at bystanders, passing cars
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis police say they stopped groups of young people that were aiming and firing off fireworks at bystanders and passing cars Wednesday night in Dinkytown.
Now, they want to put out the fuse before it explodes into another dangerous situation like the last Fourth of July.
"It's very concerning to know that five steps away from your door, this could be happening," Francesca Serdar said.
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Discarded fireworks containers from Wednesday night could still be seen in front of nearby businesses and residences into Thursday evening. People nearby wonder if this is just a sign of things to come.
"We all live here. This is our home, so it's definitely concerning to have people just rioting or jumping on cars, I've heard that's a thing now," Serdar said.
Community Safety Commissioner Cedric Alexander says the city is working with multiple agencies to ensure a repeat display doesn't happen.
"That type of behavior is not acceptable," Alexander said. "Everybody knows that we all are struggling with shortages in our agencies, but what we've learned is when we pool all of our resources together and we work together as close as we do, we get a lot solved."
That means the law enforcement on patrol will be working longer or extra shifts in the coming days.
"We're funded to utilize overtime and wheelbarrow ourselves to that. And of course, we certainly will have officers that are still on regular patrol, but we'll bring in additional resources as needed," Alexander said.
He hopes they aren't needed, but says residents can do their part by calling at the first sign of trouble.
"Whatever challenges we do have to meet, we'll meet those challenges. Not saying that we won't have any. But should they arise, we will meet those challenges under the law," Alexander said.
Another part of the safety plan is closing the Stone Arch Bridge overnight from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. starting Friday through the holiday.