MINNEAPOLIS — We've seen a really crushing trend in recent months, teenagers committing crimes like muggings, carjackings, armed robberies and shootings.
In Hennepin County alone, the number of kids getting arrested is up 40% over the past few years according to the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office.
We saw it this past Sunday in Minneapolis where - in less than an hour - the city saw five robberies and an armed carjacking.
Then, just nine hours later, a string of eight more robberies, and police say teens are behind it.
Kids involved in violence, but why?
"They're 12, like how do we do something to negate 12-year-olds from thinking that robbery is cool and it's okay?" MAD DADS Executive Director Jordan Borer Nelson said.
MAD DADS stands for Men Against Destruction, Defending Against Drugs and Social Disorder. The Minneapolis group works directly with teens to provide mentorship and community connections so they can find a better path.
"Some of the youth, they don't care if they make it to 20. Just imagine this, if you were 16 and you did not care if you made it to 20 or 21. This is the type of mentality that a lot of our youth are having," Nelson said.
"Those are real conversations and that's processing through a lot of these young people's minds, which is probably why we see some of the brazen acts, because if you don't care, then you really don't care about what you do."
Nelson understands their viewpoint all too well, because he lived it, going to prison at the age of 19.
"I got in trouble when I was a teenager and one huge reason I was getting in trouble was I wanted my dad," he said. "So, I started acting out."
Nelson says many of these kids have no positive role models in their lives.
Nelson's wife Nisaa, who mentors teenage girls, says many kids are also experiencing trauma that most of us couldn't even imagine.
"I was in a van with a group of girls and every last one of them were just saying how they all were molested by a family member who is very close to them, and they still see them every day," Nissa said. "So, these are the types of stories that we hear every day from boys and girls alike."
Nicole Seals also works with teens through MAD DADS.
She says peer pressure, social media and a need to fit in are also factors. She says many of these teens also lack stability at home.
"You can't put them in a room of drugs and addiction and chaos, and expect a child to even mentally be able to be stable enough to go to school and learn and follow rules when no one else around them is following rules," Seals said.
At the end of the day, though, none of these three teen advocates believe the recent violence involving teens is acceptable. The say those who are responsible should be held accountable, but they should also be shown a better path, and given the mentorship and tools they need to turn their lives around.
"It takes time and persistence to sit down with these kids and get to know who they are, get to know their story," Nisaa said.
"Let's really see what the root of the problem is. Let's not just see what's happening now but let's dig deeper than what's happening on the surface."
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