The south metro is getting a coordinated police response to the recent shootings, but not under that name. On Friday, Oct. 9, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension brought together law enforcement leaders from more than 40 agencies. They came from Hennepin, Ramsey, Anoka and Scott counties, along with the FBI and ATF. Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges was in the room. BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said no official task force came out of the meeting. Instead, the group talked about how to pool resources, and Evans said leaders "left the meeting strongly committed to working together to prevent violence." Minnesota's last attempt at this kind of group, the Metro Gang Strike Force, was dissolved in 2009 after problems with corruption, illegal asset seizures and missing evidence.
Prosecutors charged someone in one of the cases the same day. Adam Abdihakeem Adam, 18, faces 2 counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon and 1 count of second-degree riot in the Oct. 2 gunfire outside Eden Prairie High School's homecoming game. Authorities said surveillance video shows him firing from his brother's car. They also said his phone location placed him at the scene.
That shooting led to the task force proposal. 2 teenagers from St. Paul, ages 17 and 18, were hurt. Police called it a targeted, gang-related shooting. Eden Prairie Mayor Ron Case then called for a regional task force focused on gang activity among East African youth. It would bring together state, county and local police, prosecutors, schools, social services, youth organizations and Somali community leaders. "Our goals should be straightforward: keep young people out of gangs, hold those who commit violence accountable and ensure everyone can attend a football game, visit a park or simply go about their daily lives safely," Case said. He added that the actions of those involved "should not define the broader Somali community."
On Monday night, Oct. 5, residents packed Edina City Hall to question local, state, county and federal officials. The panel included Edina Mayor James Hovland, Edina Police Chief Todd Milburn, Eden Prairie Police Chief Matt Sackett, Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, Evans, FBI Minneapolis Special Agent in Charge Chris Dotson and representatives of the Hennepin County Attorney's Office. Residents asked about the July 22 shooting at Edina's Yancey Park and the homecoming gunfire. Witt said the problem "doesn't stop at any city border."
Bloomington had its own shooting a few hours later. Police said about 100 rounds were fired on Harriet Avenue South. The chiefs said the shootings appear to come from social media feuds among young Somali American gang members, not from drugs or money.
On Oct. 8, Hodges said he was "not necessarily sold" on a task force and would rather realign the resources agencies already have. He also said the gang members "are not reflective of their community." On arrests, he said police know who many of the shooters are and that "it's just a matter of tracking them down."
Football fields keep coming up in this story, and some people here are using them to push back. At a dinner at Substance Church, Kennedy and Jefferson football players sat together at long tables, and Hodges and Superintendent Eric Melbye joined for the program afterward. "We need to show them that unity has the power to deal with fear that seems more pervasive every day," a local columnist wrote. This year's Kennedy-Jefferson game kicks off at 6 p.m. on Oct. 21 at Kennedy's stadium.
