Community Relieved After Weekend In Minneapolis With No Shootings
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The past weekend was one of the first where there were no shootings in Minneapolis.
Police say citywide no one was hit by gunfire, which comes as a welcome break for the community and police.
There has been a 90 percent increase in shooting victims in the city so far this year. New statistics from MPD show 118 people have been shot so far this year, compared to 62 at this point last year.
The quiet weekend comes on the heels of increased police presence on the city's north side, where most of the shootings have happened.
Police say a combination of things to increase community involvement is responsible for the slowdown.
"You're sitting next to a person at a funeral and they are rubbing your back telling you it's going to be okay next Summer you're going to theirs," said Briana Thompson.
Briana Thompson and Jovonta Patton say they are tired of saying goodbye to their friends and neighbors.
"Since 2006 I have sang at 75-plus young people's funerals that are under the age of 25 that I actually knew, that I grew up with," Patton said.
The gun violence has changed their lives forever.
"My daughter's dad was part of all this. He got killed the day our daughter turned 9 months," Thompson said.
Both were relieved to learn no one was shot over the weekend.
"It's one weekend, but it was a great relief," Deputy Chief Bruce Folkens said. "It's been a great weekend. It's been a nice couple of days and there still haven't been any shootings. I remain focused and committed to the strategies that they are doing to get gun crime under control."
MPD first increased patrols on the weekends. Now, every day officers from other precincts report to the north side. Police believe an increased presence and the community taking an active role is responsible for the decrease in the sound of gunfire.
"All the violence and back-and-forth that is going on -- people don't even realize we all grew up together," Thompson said. "Their mom knew your mom before all these clicks and gangs stuff. It was all like family."
Thompson and Patton hope the quiet weekend is contagious. Both believe it can be if people who are tired of the violence stand up.
"My challenge to you is to cause a change in engagement with those who you know are active in the streets," Patton said.
Minneapolis Police say they will continue to ramp up patrols on the north side. This weekend the joint enforcement team -- made up of Minnesota State Patrol, Hennepin County Sheriff Office and Metro Transit officers -- will join MPD on patrol.
