By Roxana Navarro
20 Aug 2024, 01:56 AM EDT
The boys, ages 11 to 14, were riding in a stolen Kia when a dark sedan opened fire on them. The Minneapolis police chief said all were hit by bullets, but one was shot in the head. Officers recovered 30 shell casings at the scene.
“That four children, ages 11 to 14, were shot is outrageous and everyone should be outraged by it,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hare said at a news conference.
He added, “Police are doing everything they can to respond to this, but we can’t just keep responding after the fact. More needs to be done to deter this type of activity in the first place.”
A child is in critical condition
According to the police report, three of the children were hospitalized with non-life-threatening injuries, while another suffered a gunshot wound to the head and is in critical condition at the hospital.
The two boys and two girls were in the stolen vehicle, which is also under investigation.
“Two of the juveniles involved in this incident tonight were arrested less than two weeks ago for being in a stolen car,” O’Hara said.
“Tragic and unacceptable”
Hennepin County District Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement that MPD has not referred any of the children involved in the incident for consideration of charges or for its Youth Auto Theft Early Intervention Initiative.
“The shooting of four children in a car over the weekend is tragic and unacceptable. We must act urgently to implement effective solutions to gun violence and ensure that no one in our community is victimized in this way,” the prosecutor said in a statement.
In Minnesota, children as young as 10 can be charged in juvenile court through a juvenile delinquency petition. However, the state legislature recently approved raising that age to 13 beginning in August 2026, and Moriarty’s office has already begun that practice in most cases.
Refer children 10 years old
“Law enforcement has a variety of avenues to refer youth ages 10 and older to our office, including filing cases for prosecution and referral to our Youth Auto Theft Early Intervention Initiative,” the prosecutor said.
During the conference, the police chief criticized Moriarty’s office, saying the county attorney’s office is “playing a dangerous game with these children’s lives.”
Authorities said no charges have been filed against the minors. A fifth child was in the car but was unharmed, O’Hare said at the news conference.
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