7 People Shot In Minneapolis Over Brutally Cold Weekend
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The cold didn't stop crime in Minneapolis this weekend.
Seven people were shot, including two pregnant women.
They are expected to recover, but two people found shot in their car will not.
WCCO's Reg Chapman spoke with community leaders about the violence and what needs to change.
The coldest weekend of the year was not enough to freeze the assault by gunfire on people and property across the city.
"At 4:43 about 20 shots rang out and I had to roll over on the floor and hit the floor and brace myself," said D'Narius Lewis.
Lewis, a north side homeowner and landlord, had to react when his tenant's car was shot up during a drive by shooting near 22nd and Bryant Saturday afternoon.
"Now we have stray bullets that hit cars, we have stray bullets that hit homes. How would we have known if someone got hit if cops are only responding two hours later?" Lewis said.
Lewis knows Minneapolis police have 200 fewer officers than normal patrolling the streets and the ones left working are busy.
Before his property was hit, a pregnant woman was shot near 42nd and Irving and another woman was shot near 14th and Morgan.
Later that day, more gunfire on West Broadway. Two women were shot; one was also pregnant.
And on the coldest day of the year, two people found shot to death inside a car near Roosevelt High School.
A third person in the car was also shot but is expected to survive.
"Unfortunately it's a normal thing, but I don't want to continue to normalize things that put people's lives in danger," Lewis said.
Lewis wants people invested in their neighborhoods to step up and work with others to find a way out of this new normal.
"I'm not looking to run as the violence is literally as close as in front of my front door," Lewis said.
Minneapolis police have no one in custody in connection with any of the weekend shootings. They're asking anyone with information to give them a call.
