Minneapolis, MN
Stolen Kia crashes continue to endanger lives on Minneapolis streets
![Stolen Kia crashes continue to endanger lives on Minneapolis streets](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox9.com/www.fox9.com/content/uploads/2024/07/1280/720/kia-thieves.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Stolen Kia crashes continue to trouble Minneapolis
While the number of stolen vehicles continues to decline across the region, one issue still haunting law enforcement is young people targeting Kias and Hyundais.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – While the number of stolen vehicles continues to decline across the region, one issue still haunting law enforcement is young people targeting Kias and Hyundais.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told FOX 9, the so-called “Kia boys” remain a top public safety threat in the city. On Sunday night, one of his officers was injured when young people in a stolen Kia crashed into a police squad car.
For Shauna Valdez, she recalls having little time to react during her recent run-in with the Kia boys.
“It all happened so fast,” Valdez said. “As they say, in the blink of an eye, anything could happen. And that was it.”
Valdez, a mental health counselor, was driving her client southbound on one-way Portland Avenue in south Minneapolis last week when she caught a glimpse of a Kia coming towards her, from her left, along 31st Street. The driver did not stop at the red light, plowing into Valdez’s vehicle practically head-on.
“It was a shock. I thought it was actually smoke. That is what it looked like to me. But it was just shocking,” Valdez told FOX 9’s Paul Blume during an interview back at the crash scene. Her car was totaled. “I thought he was going to see me and slow down, but he didn’t at all. So, I almost think maybe he meant to hit me. Like, maybe they think that is fun, I don’t know.”
Valdez and her passenger are just the latest victims of a crime trend that has wreaked havoc on the streets of the state’s largest city for several years now — young car thieves turning easily stolen Kias and Hyundais into what seems like their own video game adventures.
“It is crazy,” said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. “I am sure people see it on the street. They see it in videos posted online.”
Chief O’Hara described countless incidents of reckless, high-speed driving, quick-hitting robbery sprees involving packs of youth in stolen vehicles, and on occasion, deadly rolling shootouts.
MPD Chief Brian O’Hara spoke with FOX 9 on Tuesday. (FOX 9)
“This problem is frustrating because it feels like it is something we should be able to prevent at this point,” added O’Hara.
On Sunday night, MPD reported a group of young suspects in a stolen red Kia Sol was involved in a multi-vehicle crash that included a Minneapolis squad car. The officer inside was injured and sent to the hospital.
Among the suspects rounded up in the aftermath was an 11-year-old boy as well as 22-year-old Jahkel Oneal. Oneal was charged with a gross misdemeanor weapons violation and a single misdemeanor count of obstructing the legal process on Tuesday.
Said O’Hara, “So many kids out here stealing them and joyriding them and really driving crazy. It is really, a significant public safety risk to our community. It is a risk to these own kids’ health and well-being.”
![](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox9.com/www.fox9.com/content/uploads/2024/07/932/524/mpd-squad-crash.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
The squad crash involving a stolen Kia (Supplied)
Despite the hassle of a totaled vehicle, Valdez said she knows all too well her run-in with the Kia boys could have ended a whole lot worse.
“I just thought to myself, ‘I actually could have died.’ Like, I am lucky to be alive, you know?” said Valdez. “So, this is not victimless by any means. They could kill people. They could kill themselves. These young folks have a whole life ahead of them.”
Fortunately for Valdez, outside of some bumps and bruises, she is doing fine. Insurance provided a new vehicle. The Kia boys who hit her in their stolen vehicle were captured in a blurry cell phone photograph, running from the crash scene, and have not been either identified or apprehended as far as she knows.
Valdez personally blames the Kia and Hyundai automakers for not doing more to prevent the thefts of their cars and SUVs, and like the Minneapolis police chief, hopes the community can somehow figure out the issue.
“I think it is sad, you know, and I do my best to hold some empathy,” concluded Valdez. “These young folks must not have good home lives to be out doing stuff like this. And so, I wish society could do something to help them have some sense of hope and make some changes.”
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Minneapolis, MN
Fireworks proceed in Minneapolis after daytime rain showers clear out
![Fireworks proceed in Minneapolis after daytime rain showers clear out](https://kstp.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/minneapolis-fireworks-07-04-24.jpg)
Fireworks proceed in Minneapolis after daytime rain showers clear out
Call it a Fourth of July miracle.
After a day of heavy rains, the sun peeked out early Thursday evening and the Red, White, and Boom event in Minneapolis was back on track.
“I kept checking Facebook, trying to see if they are going to be on, and they said they’re going,” laughed Jenai Brazell of Richfield. “And I said, ‘Let’s go, it’s time to go.’”
There was dancing and live music at Mill Ruins Park after the city’s announcement that the fireworks show would go on.
Fourth of July forecast causing some cities to reschedule or cancel fireworks
“When it cleared up, we decided to come down, get some food, listen to some music,” says Brittany Bennett, who lives nearby.
Bennett and her toddler son, Aiden, looked ready to celebrate the nation’s birthday.
“Hopefully, it stays clear and people get to enjoy the fireworks,” she said. “It’d be a big letdown if it didn’t happen.”
But earlier in the day the prospects for a successful fireworks show didn’t look so good.
Vendors busied themselves getting their food trucks ready in case the weather cleared.
Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board workers on the riverfront tried to stay positive.
“The weather, you can’t control Mother Nature,” declared Sammy Vazquez, a lemonade vendor.
There was water, water everywhere, it seemed — a super-soaker that put a damper on the holiday mood.
“Disappointing. You know, it’s Independence Day, everybody wants to see — hopefully, we see some fireworks tonight,” said Andy Long, an equipment operator with Minneapolis parks.
But remember the poem on the Statue of Liberty?
“Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses …”
A day we celebrate our independence and freedom is perhaps also a day of miracles.
“I heard the fireworks are amazing. I’m excited to see what happens tonight,” said Meredith Jolin, visiting from Charlotte, North Carolina.
Fireworks mirrored over the Mississippi — an evening of patriotism and joy replacing a day of gloomy weather.
“Seeing all the food trucks, seeing everybody out, it’s a good sense of community here,” said Jolin’s husband, Kevin.
Minneapolis, MN
New north Minneapolis trail construction set to begin next week
![New north Minneapolis trail construction set to begin next week](https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox9.com/www.fox9.com/content/uploads/2024/07/1280/720/North-Minneapolis-trail.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Summit Ave repair and bike trail stirs debate in St. Paul
Summit Ave in St. Paul is one of the most iconic stretches of road in Minnesota — and as the city prepares to repair aging infrastructure under the street, a proposal to add a raised bike lane is stirring a passionate debate among residents.
MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Construction is set to begin next week on a mixed-use riverfront trail in north Minneapolis that will extend a popular regional trail.
The new riverfront trail segment will connect Ole Olson Park and the 26th Avenue North Overlook, creating a new 1,000-foot trail in the process that officials hope will add “new riverside experiences” to the area for pedestrians and cyclists. The trail also connects the 26th Avenue North Overlook to the downtown riverfront and the Grand Rounds National Scenic Byway – a 51-mile continuous bike/walk trail that circles most of Minneapolis.
The addition will connect to an off-street trail on 26th Avenue North, which travels across north Minneapolis between the Mississippi River and Theodore Wirth Regional Park.
Contractors are scheduled to begin work on July 8, with hopes of completion by late-fall this year.
Construction will begin with strategic tree clearing over portions of the site – an act that officials say is unavoidable due to grading that will ensure the trail has a safe incline and sightlines.
Once completed, the new trail will take people down the riverbank, under the BNSF railway bridge, and back up to street level on either side of the connection, according to project documents.
The trail will also be constructed to withstand emergency and maintenance vehicles, up to a pickup truck, when needed.
Minneapolis, MN
Minneapolis shooting leaves man with life-threatening injuries
![Minneapolis shooting leaves man with life-threatening injuries](https://assets1.cbsnewsstatic.com/hub/i/r/2021/12/21/a73ad4f0-fcf1-4e54-bc77-d6a955650bde/thumbnail/1200x630/59aebf7160306968b86f7514a14587e4/RAW-N-MPLS-Child-Shot-122021-JVR.jpg?v=57e8061b2038d609da26e467de5ddfb8)
MINNEAPOLIS — A shooting in Minneapolis has left a man hurt and police say he might not make it.
The Minneapolis Police Department said it responded to reports of shootings on Elliot Avenue south of Franklin Avenue around 10:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Officers found a man shot in the chest, unconcious and fighting for his life.
The suspected shooter took off on foot. Police have not arrested them.
Authorities are investigating.
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