Minneapolis Police Chief Works to Curb Downtown Shootings

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — Is downtown Minneapolis safe? That's the question some residents are asking after two separate incidents of gun violence occurred in the downtown area over the weekend.

One incident resulted in a homicide and a non-fatal gunshot wound, the other resulted in three injuries.

Police say that the cases are similar in the fact that there were altercations prior to the shootings, and that the victims in both incidents were the intended targets. In both cases, the victims were not forthcoming with information or cooperating with investigators, according to a news release.

"In both incidents, MPD Officers were working in the immediate area and responded within seconds. It is clear there continues to be an issue with violent people, often chronic offenders, who have access to weapons and use them without regard to police presence," Chief Janeé Harteau said in a statement.

"I am concerned about the lack of adequate consequences and the increasing number of repeat offenders who continue to be the driving force behind our violent crime. We will continue to be aggressive in our response. I am allocating additional uniform and plain clothes officers in the warehouse district due to the violence."

Image via Tony Webster, Flickr, used under Creative Commons