After another child shot, MPD chief decries gun violence 'epidemic' in Minneapolis
Minneapolis Police Chief Medaria Arradondo expressed concerns over an “epidemic” of gun violence in the city following a Friday night shooting that injured two, including a 3-year-old.
At around 9:47 p.m., officers responded to a shooting on the 3300 block of Emerson Avenue North, Arradondo said in a Saturday press conference. Once on the scene, officers encountered two gunshot victims.
One victim, a 3-year-old, suffered a “critical” gunshot wound, Arradondo said.
According to MPD spokesperson John Elder, paramedics were still around three or four minutes away from the scene. Officers administered aid before transferring the child to North Memorial Hospital instead of waiting for paramedics.
The child is in “serious” condition but is believed to be able to survive the wound, Elder said Saturday.
“The violence our city has been enduring has to stop. Enough is enough,” Arradondo said.
“I want you all to know right now the biggest threat to our city, and particularly our African American community, is not the police... We have an epidemic right now of unequivocal gun violence, particularly in our African American communities, and that must stop.”
The other victim, an adult male, was also transferred to the hospital.
Another man later showed up to Hennepin County Medical Center with a noncritical gunshot wound, apparently from the same shooting, according to the Star Tribune.
Bullets have now wounded or killed five children under the age of 10 in Minneapolis since late April. Between April 30 and May 17, three kids – 10-year-old Ladavionne Garrett Jr., 9-year-old Trinity Ottoson-Smith, and 6-year-old Aniya Allen – were struck in the head by gunfire.
Allen and Ottoson-Smith died from their injuries, while Garrett remains in critical condition. Allen and Garrett were passengers in vehicles when they were shot; Ottoson-Smith was playing on a trampoline at a birthday party when she was shot.
Just over a week ago a 9-month-old baby was grazed by a bullet in north Minneapolis, in addition to the 3-year-old discussed in this story.
No arrests have been made in connection to any of the shootings.
Note: The details provided in this story are based on the police’s latest version of events, and may be subject to change.
