Residents, City Leaders Frustrated With N. Mpls. Violence
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- For residents of north Minneapolis, gun violence has become a regular occurrence this summer.
"A whole lot of people just want to shoot … for no reason I guess," said resident Zermaine McCabe.
On Saturday morning, an armed robber tried to hold up the Handy Stop gas station in the north side. The store's owner defended his store and fired back.
Meanwhile just a few blocks away, community members were gathering to have one of several planned peace walks.
"We as a community have to stand together and say enough is enough, and we got to take back our streets," said resident John Martin.
The attempted hold up comes just two days after a fatal shooting at North 26th Avenue and Penn Avenue North. Officers arrested a teenager in that case on Friday.
Not only are residents tired of the crime, city leaders are also trying to figure out the next step.
"We're frustrated that we haven't made, you know, that much progress in terms of curbing the violence," said Minneapolis City Council member Blong Yang.
Minneapolis Police currently have 779 officers patrolling the streets. They are budgeted for up to 850. Yang thinks they should maximize their resources to have more in north Minneapolis.
"To get more would be helpful. I think the other school of thought is we need more jobs, we need more services, more programs and those sorts of things," Yang said.
But what's most frustrating for people who live in north Minneapolis is what the violence takes away from -- the neighborhood they love.
"We have to find ways to remove the hatred and all the bitterness in young people's lives and gear them into programs that can help them," Martin said.
No one was hurt in the attempted robbery.
