Crime & Safety
Feds Eye RICO Charges After MN Gang Shootings At Homecoming Game, Church
More than 40 state, local, and federal agencies are teaming up, and it's already underway. Here's which local departments signed on.
ST. PAUL, MN — More than 40 law enforcement agencies are joining forces in a new crackdown on gang violence in Minnesota, and the most dangerous offenders could end up facing federal charges, including racketeering.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced the coordinated plan Monday following a string of shootings across the south and west metro, including gunfire outside a homecoming football game in Eden Prairie and near a church in Edina.
Investigators have linked several of those shootings to Somali youth gangs.
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On Sept. 22, shots were fired outside Our Lady of Grace Church in Edina as teens played basketball nearby.
No one was hurt, but Edina police said the shooting fit a broader pattern of gun violence involving Somali teens and young adults.
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On Oct. 2, a shooting outside Eden Prairie High School's homecoming game wounded two teenagers and forced officials to evacuate the stadium.
An 18-year-old is charged with assault and riot in that case, and four other men face riot charges.
One of those men was later the target of a shooting in Bloomington, where surveillance video showed at least two gunmen firing more than 100 rounds, Fox 9 reported.
Investigators believe that shooting may have been retaliation, according to the station.
Under the new plan, the FBI and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) will zero in on the most dangerous individuals with the goal of moving their cases into federal court. That includes prosecutions under RICO, the federal racketeering law, when appropriate, according to the BCA.
RICO allows prosecutors to go after members of a criminal organization for the group's broader pattern of crimes, not just a single offense.
Formal agreements with the participating agencies are still being finalized, but the BCA said the collaboration is already underway and active cases are already benefiting from it.
The plan also calls for county-based quick reaction teams that can rapidly respond with uniformed patrols and investigators when crimes happen. If investigations pile up, the structure can scale up, including forming a dedicated task force, the BCA said.
The initiative will run through Minnesota's Crime Gun Intelligence Center, a data-driven policing operation led by the BCA, the ATF and the FBI.
The center will coordinate and deconflict investigations, set direction and help agencies share information on gang-related cases.
It will also tap teams already in place. The BCA's Violent Crime Reduction Unit, made up of agents, criminal intelligence analysts, victim witness coordinators, forensic scientists and partner agency personnel, uses a model that pairs data-driven policing with fast-tracked evidence processing in gun crimes. Several county-based Violent Crime Enforcement Teams that target gang and drug crimes will make the work a priority, and the effort will draw on the non-fatal shooting teams within the St. Paul and Minneapolis police departments.
The ATF will also bring its National Integrated Ballistic Information Network, known as NIBIN, which links firearms evidence to specific crimes.
The BCA said the approach is modeled after the law enforcement side of the New Jersey Strategy, a gang and gun violence prevention effort anchored by intelligence-led policing.
Key partners include the Anoka, Dakota, Hennepin and Ramsey county sheriff's offices, the Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments, the BCA, the ATF and the FBI.
Other participating agencies include the Scott County Sheriff's Office, the Minnesota State Patrol, West Hennepin Public Safety, Metro Transit Police, the University of Minnesota Police Department and police departments in Apple Valley, Anoka, Blaine, Bloomington, Brooklyn Park, Burnsville, Centennial Lakes, Columbia Heights, Coon Rapids, Crystal, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Edina, Fridley, Hopkins, Lakeville, Maple Grove, Maplewood, Minnetonka, New Brighton, North St. Paul, Plymouth, Ramsey, Richfield, Robbinsdale, Rochester, Rosemount, Roseville, Savage, Shakopee, Spring Lake Park, St. Cloud and St. Louis Park.
Law enforcement will work in coordination with the Hennepin and Ramsey county attorneys' offices and the U.S. Attorney's Office.
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