Another chaotic Fourth of July in parts of Minneapolis

MINNEAPOLIS — It was another chaotic Fourth of July in Minneapolis.

The area near Boom Island was once again the scene of mayhem as officers responded to reports of people causing trouble and shooting off fireworks. WCCO photographer Nick Boeke was close to getting hit by one, but is OK.

One year ago, Boom island was the scene of a Fourth of July shooting where seven people were hurt.

Shortly after 1:30 a.m. this year, a WCCO camera captured at least a dozen officers from Minneapolis, the Park Police and the Minnesota State Patrol near Boom Island. The officers were using a bullhorn to tell several dozen people to clear the area and go home.

Boeke was interviewing someone there who watched the chaos unfold just seconds before a firework went off right next to them. You can see that moment in the video above.

“Cops, people fighting and stuff. There were people throwing fireworks at cops and everything it was crazy,” the witness said. “Me personally, I haven’t done it.”

The area was, for the most part, quiet again at about 2 a.m.

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Police in other parts of Minneapolis were not taking any chances. There was a large police presence, including state troopers, around Bde Maka Ska. They had several roads closed off in the area. 

Monday night, officers shut down roads in downtown Minneapolis to keep the streets safe.

WCCO is waiting to learn how the department was staffed last night compared to last year. Last year, MPD said since the Fourth fell on a Monday, it wasn’t necessarily expected to be busy, so the staffing level was normal at about 80 officers. The Fourth this year fell on a Tuesday.

Police also said one of the ways to deter chaos was to deny access to areas for people to gather after hours. They did that this year with the Stone Arch Bridge, but not Boom island.