SerpApi.Org
There were heated moments Tuesday evening as Minneapolis leaders met with community members to discuss public safety following increased violence over the last several days.
Two mass shootings in the city in less than a day have the community on edge.
Around 12:30 a.m. Sunday, nine people were shot outside a nightclub in Minneapolis' Uptown neighborhood. Two were seriously injured, but are expected to survive, according to police. Then, around 8:20 p.m. Sunday, police say "gunfire erupted outside a business in the 1800 block of Nicollet Avenue."
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said she has been fielding calls from people who are worried for the safety of their families.
"They're afraid. They are concerned with the number of gunshots that they are hearing in their communities. They are worried about being able to go to the store," Witt said. "Community members are asking, rightfully so, 'What are we going to do about it?'"
Witt shared the stage with Minneapolis City Council Members Elizabeth Shaffer and Jamal Osman, leaders from the Minneapolis Police Department and a representative from Mayor Jacob Frey's office.
Community members wrote down questions and passed them forward to the panel. Some asked if there are ordinances the city can pass to help officers with enforcement, whether or not these shootings are gang-related and the plan to deal with recurring drug and criminal activity at certain intersections.
Witt says the departments are partnering to increase patrols in high crime areas. Both Witt and Minneapolis police officers noted the need for more police officers.
"Please shut this down"
It's a dangerous déjà vu for landlord Jim Rubin, who is dealing with a homicide scene outside his property off 19th and Nicollet for the second time in nine months.
"People along that mural got hit," Rubin said. "There has been an open-air, I mean, an open-air, wide-in-the-open drug market at the area of 19th and Nicollet since the spring of 2021."
Nine months ago, WCCO spoke with Rubin and fellow Stevens Square property owner Mike Finkelstein, who said the criminal activity stems from the illicit market.
"We are to a point now where we're asking, whatever it takes, please just shut this down, however you can do that," Rubin said.
Rubin and Finkelstein say they don't fault police, but feel the department needs more resources.
Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said police have been focused on this area for months and put even more patrols there after Sunday's shooting, which WCCO witnessed. But an MPD spokesman said a squad wasn't posted in the immediate area at the time of Monday's shooting.
"What we don't know is each day how many officers will we see and how many days this will go on," Rubin said.
On June 30, the FBI said it arrested 11 in connection with a drug trafficking organization, some of whom are associated with gangs who base their operations near 19th and Nicollet.
