MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Four minors in Minneapolis were injured, one critically, after automatic gunfire struck a stolen Kia while they were inside.
A total of five children, three boys and two girls, between the ages of 11 and 14 years old, were in the stolen Kia during the shooting.
What happened
Police say it happened around 1 a.m. Sunday near the intersection of West Broadway and Girard Avenue.
Investigators believe a sedan followed the stolen Kia before someone from the sedan opened fire.
Two of the boys and two of the girls were then taken to the hospital for their injuries.
One of the girls, 12 years old, suffered a life-threatening gunshot to the head. She is in critical but stable condition, according to law enforcement officials.
The other children shot reportedly suffered non-life-threatening injuries. Police say a 12-year-old boy was shot in the arm, an 11-year-old girl was shot in the leg and arm, and a 13-year-old boy suffered a gunshot wound to the back.
The fifth minor, an 11-year-old boy, was detained after police discovered the Kia was stolen. Minnesota law states that he cannot be charged because of his age, so police released the boy to his parents.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara responds
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara spoke at the scene and said two of the five minors involved in the incident were arrested less than two weeks ago for being inside a different stolen car. He said this is the latest example of a much bigger issue.
“The cars that are being stolen here, particularly among juveniles, are connected to more and more serious crimes. And that’s across the board, robberies, assaults, you name it,” Chief O’Hara said. “It just shows really brazen and callous behavior, they don’t care about their own lives, let alone the lives of other people.”
Chief O’hara adds there has been a “slight uptick” in stolen Kias and Hyundais this month. He believes there should be harsher consequences for those caught committing those crimes.
“The police are doing everything that we can in response to this, but we can’t keep responding after the fact, we can’t keep arresting these kids,” Chief O’Hara said. “More needs to be done to deter this type of activity in the first place.”
Source Agencies
