MINNEAPOLIS, MN – An incident in the early hours of Sunday has left four children aged between 11 and 14 suffering gunshot wounds in Minneapolis. The juveniles were in a stolen car driven by an 11-year-old boy when they came under attack, as confirmed in a statement by Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
The shooting resulted in injuries to two girls and two boys. One of the girls, who suffered a gunshot to the head, is in a critical but stable condition at Hennepin Medical Center. The other three children sustained non-life-threatening injuries.
Chief O’Hara expressed dissatisfaction at the recurring violent incidents involving children in the city, stating, “Four kids shot between [the ages] 11 and 14 is outrageous and everyone should be up in arms over it.” He insisted the police force was doing everything possible to address the situation while appealing to the public to assist in preventing such incidents from happening.
The person who opened fire on the stolen white Kia, leading to the injuries, remains unidentified, and the motive for the assault is still under investigation. The shooting was initially detected by ShotSpotter gunfire detection technology, leading to a series of 911 calls.
Details forwarded by Chief O’Hara indicated that a dark-colored sedan began pursuing the children’s vehicle before discharging “fully automatic gunfire”. Authorities found approximately 30 shell casings at the scene, believing that more rounds might have been fired based on potential casings inside the presumed attacker’s vehicle.
Chief O’Hara highlighted that two of the juveniles involved in the incident were previously arrested for their association with a stolen vehicle under two weeks ago. He lamented, “We are failing to deter this behavior and, with that being said, we are failing these kids as well.”
Chief O’Hara reported a resurgence in the theft of Kias and Hyundais this month after a decrease in such thefts last year. He further expressed concerns over the rising boldness observed in culprits, leading to occurrences of severe crimes associated with stolen vehicles.