Minneapolis, MN
30 people arrested amid July 4 chaos in Minneapolis
More than two dozen teens and young adults were jailed late Thursday and early Friday after allegedly shooting fireworks at vehicles and people in Minneapolis
Police arrested 30 people and cited five others amid a night of chaos that centered around the Dinkytown neighborhood. The suspects range in age from 15 to 23; the majority are adults.
Unlike July 4 melees last year and in 2022, Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters at a Friday news conference that there were no reports of fireworks injuries or gun violence.
“Those things are the good news,” O’Hara said. “The bad news is that once again we had groups of teenagers and young adults attacking police and other persons and property by throwing fireworks at them.”
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As in past years, O’Hara said the groups organized on social media. He credited Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto’s decision to close parkways to vehicle traffic with keeping large groups of youth away from the Chain of Lakes — a key trouble spot last year.
O’Hara said he was on patrol in Dinkytown with a group of officers when someone lobbed a mortar at them.
“It was literally louder than when a shotgun goes off very close to you,” O’Hara said. “That’s the power of these things. If that thing had gotten into a car, if it had gotten too close to one of the pedestrians out there, it could have taken a limb off if not kill a person.”
A spokesperson for the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office said in an email to MPR News on Friday that prosecutors are reviewing cases against 17 adults and two juveniles for possible charges, and are awaiting information from police on one additional adult and three other people.
The arrests this year are nearly double those of 2023, when around 16 people, mostly juveniles, were booked in connection with July 4 chaos.
Court records show that one of the adults arrested last year, Iyub Qays Ali, 21, was convicted at trial in March of fleeing police in a motor vehicle. A jury acquitted Ali of assault and riot charges.
In May, Judge Marta Chou sentenced Ali to 10 days of community service and three years of supervised probation. If he completes his probation successfully, Ali’s felony conviction will go on his record as a misdemeanor.
A second 2023 defendant, Zamir Abdulkadir Yassin, 19, pleaded guilty in March to a gross misdemeanor riot charge and received 30 days of home detention with electronic monitoring along with two years of supervised probation.
Neither Ali nor Yassin were among those booked into the Hennepin County Jail Thursday and Friday.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey signed a new ordinance that carries a ban on assault weapons but won’t take effect unless there are major changes to state law.
Minneapolis gun ban ordinance signed
What we know:
The Minneapolis City Council approved the ordinance during its meeting last week.
The firearm regulations ordinance includes a ban on assault weapons, ghost guns, binary triggers, and high-capacity magazines. The ordinance also includes safe storage provisions for firearms.
Big picture view:
Many of the provisions in the law won’t go into effect unless there is a change in state law. Currently, Minnesota law prevents municipalities from enacting gun regulations.
Minnesota law only allows cities to bar the discharge of firearms within city limits and adopt regulations that are identical to state laws. Any regulations that go beyond state law are voided, according to state statute.
Local perspective:
Action on the gun ordinance was spurred by last year’s shooting at Annunciation Church and School. Two students were killed while attending morning mass at the church and more than two dozen students and parishioners were hurt in the barrage of gunfire.
Last week, parents of Annunciation students spoke out in support of the ordinance at a public hearing.
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus threatens lawsuit
The other side:
Last year, St. Paul passed a similar law. The Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus filed a lawsuit shortly after the ordinance was signed. Arguments were heard last month on the case and a judge has set a trial for next year.
In a statement last week, the Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus said it was evaluating its legal options in Minneapolis.
Minnesota Gun Owners Caucus Chair Bryan Strawser said:
“The City of Minneapolis is attempting to make a political statement with an ordinance it has no legal authority to enact. Minnesota law clearly preempts the entire field of firearms regulation, and local governments cannot simply ignore state statute because they dislike the policy outcome.
“If the City Council moves forward with this unlawful ordinance, we will evaluate every available legal option to challenge it, just as we did in Saint Paul.
“The law is not optional, even for Minneapolis.”
A man was hurt in a shooting in south Minneapolis late Tuesday night, according to police.
A report of shots fired brought officers to the 2600 block of Third Avenue South around 9:50 p.m., the Minneapolis Police Department said. They found evidence of gunfire and began investigating.
Later, a man with survivable gunshot wounds showed up at Hennepin Healthcare.
No one has been arrested.
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