MINNEAPOLIS (KARE 11) — Minneapolis Police are investigating another string of robberies that occurred Sunday morning similar to the pattern they saw earlier this month involving armed teenagers.
The Minneapolis Police Department says there were four robberies in the span of 18 minutes in the Fifth Precinct — the same area where many of the other robberies occurred earlier this month — including one at gunpoint. About 30 minutes later, police say a carjacking occurred in northeast Minneapolis, followed by a nearby armed robbery 15 minutes later. Police say they believe the vehicle stolen in the carjacking was used in the armed robbery that occurred in northeast Minneapolis.
“This, again, appears to be the same MO, same groups of juveniles that we suspect were involved in the previous robbery spree,” said MPD Chief Brian O’Hara in a press conference on Sunday. “We’ve had investigators working around the clock to try and identify all of the different individuals involved. However, we believe this is more than one group and we suspect today it may have been two groups of juveniles, working in tandem, to commit these crimes.”
Chief O’Hara said the department used recently adopted protocol Sunday where officers responding to non-emergency calls get redirected to the area of the spree. While no arrests were made, Chief O’Hara did say investigators have identified a number of the suspects involved.
During Sunday’s press conference, Chief O’Hara said the pattern they’ve seen has involved groups of juveniles driving around in stolen vehicles — sometimes in groups — and they’ll circle the area. Officials believe all of the victims on Sunday were women.
“I need the public to know that it’s really important that they report suspicious activity to us as quickly as possible,” he said.
According to MPD data, robberies have spiked by 40.2 percent citywide so far in 2024 compared to this same time period last year. In the Fifth Precinct, robberies have increased 126.8 percent.
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