MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) – Minneapolis Police and violence prevention groups are stepping up patrols and setting a curfew this weekend. The changes come after several deadly late-night incidents earlier this month.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara tells FOX 9 there are multiple agencies on standby in case more violence breaks out. They have also set an 11 p.m. curfew for teens in hopes of preventing another tragedy.

“The last two weekends the problem we’ve been seeing particularly at 5th and Hennepin is a lot a teenagers that are down here hanging out throughout the afternoon and late at night when really there’s nothing for them to get into but trouble,” said O’Hara. 

O’Hara is looking for a peaceful weekend in the city.

Last weekend a shooting at 5th and Hennepin left two men dead and two teenage girls injured. In that same area two weeks prior, a woman drove a car into a crowd, killing another teenage girl.

O’Hara is now looking for everyone to come together and stop the violence.

“There’s several community-based violence interrupters that are out here, several different groups,” said O’Hara.

One of the community groups involved in this weekend’s efforts is T.O.U.C.H Outreach.

“The plan right now is just to come out and meet some of these young people where they’re at. Identify some of the young people we already have relationships with,” said Muhammad Abdul-Ahad, the Executive Director of T.O.U.C.H Outreach.

“We’re taking mostly a community engagement approach because these are some of the kids that are from our communities that we come from,” said Abdul-Ahad.

Friday night’s curfew is at 11 p.m. for teens in downtown Minneapolis. The shooting last weekend happened just before two in the morning.

“3 o’clock in the morning kids need to be home and be in bed by that time, waking up to do something the next weekend morning. Get into some fun activities.,” said Abdul-Ahad.

The violence interrupter groups plan to be out in the community until three in the morning.

MINNEAPOLIS — Without major repairs, the Agate homeless shelter in Elliot Park would permanently close in less than two weeks.

However, a recent City Council action allocating $1.5 million dollars of surplus funds, combined with matched money from an anonymous donor, is set to save the 95-bed space that serves 135 people.

Agate Executive Director Kyle Hanson said the shelter will still close on Oct. 9. After that, work will be done to repair things like plumbing and heat, while adding air conditioning.    

Hanson said the shelter will reopen in eight to 12 months.

“The City Council stepped up and made sure that we funded a shelter to prevent its permanent closure,” said Minneapolis City Council Member Jason Chavez.
    
But Minneapolis Mayor Frey said there’s just one problem: That money is already allocated.
    
In a letter to council members Thursday, Frey wrote that the funding decision lacked proper vetting and was based on point-in-time budget projections.

The council’s action will either cut $350,000 for a Minneapolis park, or will cut city staff, according to Minneapolis’ Chief Financial Officer Dushani Dye.

“They didn’t talk to anybody that actually knows what they’re talking about with respect to the budget, and the repercussions are they ended up cutting things that they didn’t realize they were cutting,” said Frey.

“To those claims, I’ll say the money is there and if the money isn’t there, did the mayor’s administration share inaccurate information to the public a couple days ago?” said Chavez.

According to Chavez, the shelter funds are coming from surplus dollars from city departments that regularly underspend. The 2024 city budget projects underspending, he said.

While the funding was approved and Frey did not veto it, the mayor said, in his letter to council members, that his administration will work to find “…a less disruptive source of funding.”

“Our team is going to continue to dig in on this to figure out how we make lemonade out of lemons,” said Frey.