MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police activated the department's new robbery pattern response protocol Monday after a handful of violent incidents on the city's south side were reported in less than two hours time.
MPD created the "all hands on deck" response protocol after multiple crime sprees in recent days involving young suspects with handguns carrying out robberies and carjackings. On Tuesday afternoon, police received calls on six different incidents involving suspects with a similar description.
3:04 p.m. - Caller reports two masked males rifling through an unoccupied vehicle on the 2900 block of 32nd Ave. S. Both were said to be carrying handguns.
3:16 p.m. - Dispatchers receive a report of gunfire on the 2900 block of 34th Ave. S. A black vehicle is seen leaving the area.
3:43 p.m. - Resident reports two males going through a vehicle. The suspects point guns at the vehicle owner when he confronts them, then leave in a black SUV.
3:53 p.m. - A 911 caller reports a black SUV driving recklessly and running red lights near the intersection of 35th St. E and Oakland Ave.
4:16 p.m. - Police receive a report of an attempted carjacking on the 200 block of 43rd St. E. Masked male suspects demand keys from a vehicle owner, but no weapons were seen. Suspects rummaged through the vehicle and sped off in a black SUV.
4:47 p.m. - Callers report multiple gunshots on the 2900 block of Pillsbury Ave. S. Witness reported seeing a male with a gun leaving the scene in a black SUV. Fortunately, no injuries were reported.
MPD spokesman Sgt. Garrett Parten says investigators are working to determine whether the same people are involved in all the incidents. Despite the increased response protocol, no suspects were located.
The victim of the 4 p.m. attempted carjacking shared her story with KARE 11 news on the condition her last name not be used since the suspects are still on the loose.
Olivia said she was sitting in her unlocked car looking at her phone while waiting for her daughter's school bus -- when a young man wearing a ski mask opened her driver's side door.
"I was thinking, 'please, don't let this be my last day here,'" Olivia said. "He was very calm. Didn't saying anything besides, 'Where's your purse? Where's the keys to your car?' And I told him I didn't have either."
Olivia said she stayed calm as the masked young man seemed to be reaching for a possible gun and her daughter's bus pulled up right behind them.
"There's no way that a child should ever witness anything like that happening to their mother," Olivia said.
Olivia said she got out, walking right past the suspect to her daughter and into a safe house.
"I thought he might have wanted to shoot me when I'm walking with my back turned to get my daughter. But that didn't happen, thankfully, thank God for that," Olivia said.
Olivia didn't realize there already were several other 911 calls concerning those same suspects.
"Incidents involving suspect that were armed, same description, same vehicle driving around attempting to steal cars, pointing guns at folks and, at some point, firing some rounds," said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara.
O'Hara activated MPD's new robbery response protocol, which redeploys all available officers into the affected area to saturate it as quickly as possible. O'Hara responded himself.
"I think there is no question that once we were able to get all the resources into the area, the problem stopped," O'Hara said.
Stopped, but in this case, no arrests yet. Olivia hopes that changes, soon.
"It disturbs me because something that simple -- picking up your daughter at the bus stop -- could have went so bad in front of a child," Olivia said.
Anyone with information on the crime spree or those involved is asked to call Minneapolis police.
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