8 people, including 5 teenage boys, injured in south Minneapolis mass shooting
MINNEAPOLIS – Five teenage boys and three adults were injured Sunday in a shooting in south Minneapolis, the neighborhood's second mass shooting in just nine days. Now, Minneapolis police are asking for the public's help in apprehending the shooters.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara says it happened just before 6 p.m. near the intersection of East Franklin and Chicago avenues in the Ventura Village neighborhood of the Phillips community.
O'Hara says Metro Transit police officers heard gunfire and responded to the scene, followed by Minneapolis police officers. They found three teenage boys suffering from leg wounds in front of Minneapolis Market.
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While officers were treating the victims, another injured boy approached them with a graze wound to his shoulder. Those four victims -- all between the ages of 15 and 17 -- were taken to Hennepin Healthcare, where three adult victims also went on foot. One of those victims is an 18-year-old man, and the other two are a woman and a man in their 40s, according to O'Hara. A 16-year-old boy also showed up at Children's Minnesota Hospital with a gunshot wound to the abdomen.
In total, the eight victims -- all of whom are expected to survive their injuries -- are as follows:
- 15-year-old boy
- Three 16-year-old boys
- 17-year-old boy
- 18-year-old man
- 45-year-old woman
- 48-year-old man
O'Hara says the victims told investigators they heard gunshots but didn't see where they came from.
At least 41 shell casings were found by police one block east at Franklin and Elliot avenues. A nearby residence also sustained damage from two bullets.
O'Hara says they believe two gunmen wearing hoodies, armed with at least one assault weapon, fled northbound on Elliot Avenue on foot.
"This location has been a hot spot for criminal activity in the past, so we do not have any information to indicate this would've been random at this time. However, the investigation is in its early stages," O'Hara said.
This mass shooting happened right in front of large, elevated Minneapolis police camera that was installed months ago to deter crime. Police are working to find more surveillance video that might have captured what happened.
Dash camera from Kayseh Magan's car shows a group of people running away from the shooting.
"I hear a quick succession of gunshots. I ducked, asked my uncle if he was OK, I checked to see if I was OK, and then went through the red light," Magan said.
He saw wounded victims running.
"We can't accept this type of violence. People live in these neighborhoods. I live here," Magan said.
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Other residents in the area say that they feel helpless in the face of gun violence. One neighbor WCCO talked with says violence like this happens all too often, but trying to find a solution is hard.
"Just two blocks that way there was a murder. I think that one was with a knife, actually; here was a knife murder at the corner of Franklin and Chicago, the bus stop there," Susan Solarz said. "I wish I knew more about how to change it other than just talking to people who make policies, you know. I know how hard it is for them, too."
Mahmoud Elmi owns a small grocery at the intersection. He says, despite police patrols, crime has continued.
"We have children, we have law-abiding citizens," he said.
Minneapolis City Councilmember Jamal Osman says the main issue is guns.
"How can a young man, small children have access to guns?" Osman said.
On Monday afternoon, the Minnesota Chapter of Moms Demand Action issued a statement:
"Our children deserve to grow in a country with the opportunity to live and thrive without fear of being gunned down," Leah Kondes, a volunteer with the Minnesota chapter of Moms Demand Action, said. "Guns are the leading cause of death for children and teens in the United States -- a statistic that should be unacceptable. We can't accept this as our normal -- we must continue to push forward policies that break the cycles of gun violence and eradicate this public health crisis."
Anyone with information is asked to call Minneapolis police, or submit an anonymous tip online to Crime Stoppers, or by calling 1-800-222-TIPS (8477).
On Aug. 11, a mass shooting outside of the punk music house venue Nudieland, located less than a mile southeast of Franklin and Chicago, left one person dead and six others hurt.