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Minneapolis, MN

First licensed Somali-owned day care in state damaged in south Minneapolis fire

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First licensed Somali-owned day care in state damaged in south Minneapolis fire


MINNEAPOLIS — Hours after her home burned down, Hawo Gurey stood on the sidewalk looking at the remains trying to figure out how to rebuild. 

Not for herself, though. She was more concerned about the families that had come to rely on the day care business that was also housed inside the property. 

“This is very devastating. It’s going to impact my business in a large way. I am no longer going to be able to care for the kids I was going to care for. It’s going to affect the mothers and children that were gonna be taken care of,” Gurey said.

If you learn more about her life story, you’ll find that taking care of others is what Gurey does. 

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In 1991, Gurey became a refugee of civil war in Somalia, taking a bullet to the shoulder. 

“I flee with my siblings and I was able to take care of them. My mother passed away in her own home. She was shot. We came to Kenya and fortunately, I was able to come to America,” she said. 

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After several years in a Kenyan refugee camp, Gurey and her young children arrived in Minnesota.

She says she received so much help taking care of her children here, she wanted to pay it forward.

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“I started off helping moms who didn’t speak English, who didn’t have people to take care of their kids so they can go to work,” she said. “There’s many parents that were not able to get help or assistance from the government but I was able to help and help them until they are able to get assistance or get help or homes or work.”

Gurey eventually opened the first licensed Somali day care in the state. 

Since then, she’s watched over thousands of children until Wednesday morning’s fire. 

The Minneapolis Fire Department says the fire started in a dumpster outside in a pile of debris before it spread to two adjacent homes. It’s something Gurey isn’t surprised to hear. 

“There was a homeless person living in that corner. And I asked them to move out a few times. I didn’t want to call the police on them I didn’t want to cause them any harm, but they still wouldn’t move,” she said. “I spoke to my landlord two or three times that children were being cared for here and that they need to be doing something about it. So they moved away from my home to the home next door to me. Nothing was really done and this is what it came to.
”

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Her focus now is rebuilding and reopening for those families that have come to rely on her. 

“I gave many hours to parents so they’re always always have somewhere that safe to bring to their children. From 5 a.m. to 11:30 p.m., I am the only place that is always there to provide care for children,” she said, pointing at the charred remains of her home and business. “It’s not important of what I had, but who I was caring for it was the most important thing to me.”

The West Bank Business Association has started a GoFundMe to help the business impacted by the fire. 

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Minneapolis, MN

BCA identifies armed suspect, Minneapolis officer who fired shots at him

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BCA identifies armed suspect, Minneapolis officer who fired shots at him


The armed man and an officer who fired shots at him in Minneapolis last week have been identified by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA).

The BCA identified the suspect as 26-year-old Hanun Mohamed Awow and the Minneapolis police officer who fired his gun as Ariel Luna Sanchez.

Sanchez has three years of law enforcement experience and has been placed on critical incident leave, the BCA said.

Minneapolis police officer shoots at armed man, BCA investigating: MPD

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According to the BCA, officers responded around 12:30 a.m. on Thursday to a 911 call from a resident on the 3000 block of Fifth Avenue South, who said a neighbor had pointed a gun at their mom.

The caller told Minneapolis police that the neighbor, later identified as Awow, had a handgun and went back into his apartment. Officers went to Awow’s apartment and he opened the door and stepped out with a gun in his hand.

Police shouted for him to drop the gun and that’s when Sanchez fired shots, the BCA says.

Awow, who was not injured, was taken into custody by police. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara said last week that he believed Awow was intoxicated at the time of the incident.

BCA crime scene personnel recovered a handgun from the scene and body cameras worn by officers.

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Minneapolis man is third convicted in Coon Rapids triple murder

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Minneapolis man is third convicted in Coon Rapids triple murder


An Anoka County jury has found guilty the last of three defendants in last year’s fatal shootings of a woman, her son and husband after he and two accomplices posed as UPS delivery drivers and went into the family’s Coon Rapids home looking for money.

Omari Malik Shumpert (Courtesy of the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office)

Omari Malik Shumpert, 20, of Minneapolis, was convicted Friday in Anoka County District Court of three counts of aiding and abetting first-degree murder in the Jan. 26, 2024, killings of Shannon Patricia Jungwirth, 42, her son Jorge Alexander Reyes-Jungwirth, 20, and her husband, Mario Alberto Trejo Estrada, 39.

Shumpert fatally shot Estrada after he fought back, prosecutors said.

He’s scheduled to be sentenced Jan. 9, a day after his older brother Demetrius Trenton Shumpert will go before a judge for sentencing.

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Jurors previously convicted Demetrius Shumpert, 33, of Minneapolis, and Alonzo Pierre Mingo, who prosecutors said orchestrated the robbery plan and pulled the trigger in the killings of Jungwirth and Reyes-Jungwirth.

Mingo, 39, of Fridley, was sentenced to life in prison in September.

Mingo, a former UPS seasonal employee, wore his old uniform while carrying a box to convince Jungwirth that he was delivering a package, prosecutors said.

Several surveillance cameras were mounted throughout the house in the 200 block of 94th Avenue Northwest. Video showed Demetrius Shumpert and Mingo forcing Jungwirth to open credenza drawers while demanding money.

All three victims were shot in the head, and two of the killings were on video. Two small children, both under the age of 5, were also in the home at the time of the killings but not injured.

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Court records said Estrada was suspected of drug trafficking and that law enforcement was on his trail in the days leading up to the killings. Afterward, investigators searched a Golden Valley storage unit that Estrada had rented under a false name and seized three bags of white powder, seven bags of psilocybin mushrooms, three bags of marijuana and a bag of meth, according to a search warrant affidavit.



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Minneapolis College teams up with Toys for Tots to provide holiday gifts for student parents

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Minneapolis College teams up with Toys for Tots to provide holiday gifts for student parents


For many student parents at Minneapolis College, the holiday season arrives during one of the busiest and most stressful times of the year.

Final exams, work schedules and family responsibilities often collide in December. This week, a Toys for Tots giveaway on campus offered some relief.

The college partnered with the U.S. Marine Corps Toys for Tots program to provide gifts exclusively for student parents. School officials say more than 145 student parents signed up for the event, representing nearly 270 children.

Veronica Krawiec is a nursing student at Minneapolis College and the mother of a young son, Christopher. She said balancing school, work and parenting can be overwhelming, especially around the holidays.

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Krawiec said she was able to find a Lego set her son specifically asked for this Christmas, something she was not sure she would be able to afford on her own.

She said the support she receives on campus has made a significant difference, pointing to resources like the Student Support Center and food pantry. Krawiec said those services help her focus on school without feeling ashamed for asking for help.

“As a mom most of the time I feel like I’m failing but like this this helps me a lot to not feel as bad,” she said.

Sharita Jackson, a first semester addiction counseling student and single mother of two, also attended the giveaway. She said resources like the Toys for Tots event help ease some of the pressure that comes with being a student parent.

Minneapolis College staff say the need among student parents has grown this year, in some cases doubling. The college estimates nearly 20% of its students are parents, and more than 70% of students identify as Indigenous or people of color, international, low income or first generation.

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In addition to holiday giveaways, the college offers a Student Parent Center, a food pantry, basic needs support and access to housing, financial and veterans resources. Staff say those services are designed to help students stay enrolled and succeed while raising families.

College officials say events like the Toys for Tots giveaway help reduce stress during the holidays and allow student parents to focus on finishing the semester strong.



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