MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis police are investigating a string of break-ins that left 34 vehicles damaged.

34 vehicles damaged in Minneapolis

By the numbers:

Officers say they responded to the 700 block of 1st Street North just after 2 a.m. on Thursday for reports of a man who arrived in a white sedan using a flashlight to break into vehicles. 

Police reportedly found multiple vehicles that had been broken into, but could not locate the suspect.

The Minneapolis Police Department shared this data on the break-ins:

• 700 block 1st Street North — (10 vehicles damaged)
• 600 block 5th Street North — (7 vehicles damaged)
• 900 block 3rd Street North — (5 vehicles damaged)
• 600 block 4th Street North — (5 vehicles damaged)
• Area of Marquette Ave and 10th Street South — (7 vehicles damaged)

What’s next:

Investigators say they are “using identifiable trends occurring across the city to deploy extra patrol and other measures.”

Minneapolis has pushed back the opening of its new 3rd Police Precinct again, with city leaders now targeting spring 2027.

Community Safety Commissioner Todd Barnette said Thursday the new Third Police Precinct, which the city has named the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center, is expected to open in the second quarter of 2027. That was confirmed as 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS got an exclusive look inside the project along Minnehaha Avenue, a few blocks from the former precinct that burned in 2020.

Demolition work is underway inside the building as crews replace utilities and begin turning the former commercial warehouse into a police precinct and community center. A city spokesperson said that walls will soon go up to partition off the space, more windows will be cut, and a new rendering shared with 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS shows separate entrances for police and other services, including The Link MN, contracted to provide human trafficking related prevention and intervention services.

“The Link will be working with human trafficking victims who are children and youth, and Cornerstone will be working with adult victims of trafficking,” said The Link MN CEO Beth Holger.

“Our plan is to have street outreach workers and mobile case managers be based out of the safety center, and then we’ll be able to connect them with longer-term services.”

The Link MN is the only contracted vendor so far, according to the city’s Office of Community Safety. The office said the site will also include a city 311 service center, a satellite office for Hennepin County’s Youth Connection Center, and proposals would soon be sought to contract with additional vendors to bring in domestic violence navigators, community navigators (case managers), and mental health and well-being supports.

Barnette confirms delay

The demolition work did not begin until May, well after earlier target opening dates. In 2024, 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS was told the precinct would open in March 2025, then in summer 2026, and then by the end of this year, which was the target date as of a couple of weeks ago.

Then, on Thursday, Commissioner Barnette confirmed it had shifted again to spring of 2027.

“I think our realistic date would be the second quarter of 2027,” he said.

Barnette said the project timeline has been difficult because the South Minneapolis Community Safety Center is a new concept, and supply chain delays have also slowed it down. After walking through the site Thursday, he said he was encouraged by the progress.

“I’m more of a visual person; to actually be able to go, ‘Oh, now I know where this is,’ it’s exciting, super exciting,” Barnette said.

“You know, broke ground in May, and you know things are starting to move along, which is good.”

Barnette is stepping down at the end of the year, meaning he will not be with the city when the new target date arrives. He said the project will continue after he leaves and that he hopes to return for the opening.

Asked about his upcoming departure from the city and what that means for the project, Barnette said, “Well, because we’re gonna have community space, I get to come back and see it… Hopefully, they invite me back for the opening, so that would still be exciting. The project won’t slow down with me leaving; it’ll continue.”

Barnette also confirmed his office remains committed to opening the police precinct and community services at the same time.

MPD 3rd Precinct Inspector Jose Gómez said he also wants the building to help strengthen ties with the neighborhood after 6 years of being based downtown, outside of the area he serves.

“I want to incorporate as much community as possible, so that kind of hopefully erases some of that, where it’s intentional and authentic, and you know, being a part of this,” Gómez said, adding that he plans to host many community events.

“We’re trying to plan, like, something when we move in, kind of like a little kickoff or a party for the area. So I just think it’ll bring us and community closer together,” he said.

“I’ve been here since day one, and I guess just moving in and being a part of it-that’s what I’m looking forward to. It’s just being here on that day moving forward.”

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