Mpls. city council member eyes safety improvements near Lowry and Penn avenues after gunfire strikes two
MINNEAPOLIS -- Minneapolis police continue to look for suspects in a shooting that left two people injured, including a woman who was riding on a metro transit bus.
Gunshots rang out near Lowry and Penn avenues around 7:15 p.m. Tuesday.
Surveillance camera videos show the moments before three masked juveniles walked into a parking lot near the intersection. Video also shows the metro transit bus pulling up before gunfire erupts.
A Minneapolis police squad car with an officer inside was just feet away from the gunmen.
"Two innocent bystanders had been shot. One was a female who was on the bus and the other was someone standing out in the vacant lot," said LaTrisha Vetaw, the Ward 4 city council member. She says she's concerned about the gun violence near that intersection and the innocent people caught in the crossfire.
"It was 30 shots, 30 shots that went out and this woman was just sitting on the bus trying to get somewhere," said Vetaw.
Vetaw spoke with the owner of the liquor store.
"This guy Gary, the owner, has been just such a beacon," said Vetaw. She says he keeps his property clear, the problem is the adjacent lot where people tend to gather.
"It's a vacant county lot that we need to do something with. There are a lot of people sitting in that area like a park. People just set up on this county vacant lot and start grilling and start selling food out of food trucks and that brings unwanted traffic to his business," Vetaw said.
Vetaw is chair of the public safety committee and says Operation Endeavor - a coalition of law enforcement getting some of the most violent criminals along with drugs and guns off the street - is working.
But she believes more can be done.
"We have these organizations like Rev. Mcafee whose 21 Days of Peace, maybe this is how we partner with them and have some ongoing monitoring of these places and a presence. We know that presence changes everything," Vetaw said.
Vetaw believes continued collaboration between police and community is key.
Vetaw says she has reached out to 21 Days of Peace for help.
The two people injured in the shooting are expected to survive. Police are investigating, and so far no one is in custody.
