MINNEAPOLIS — Nearly two years after stray bullets struck three innocent children in Minneapolis, one of the affected families has experienced “some degree of closure.”
On Monday, 20-year-old Dpree Shareef Robinson pleaded guilty to second-degree murder in the death of Trinity Ottoson-Smith. In exchange for his plea, Robinson will be sentenced to 450 months (37 ½ years), of which he will serve two-thirds.
“Mr. Robinson’s actions shocked our community and devastated her family and all who loved her. I’m hopeful his admission of guilt begins to bring some degree of closure for Trinity’s family and the community,” wrote Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty in a press release after the plea deal was announced.
According to prosecutors, Robinson – who has “ties to an area gang” – was attempting a “drive-by shooting” when a stray bullet hit the 9-year-old girl, who was playing with friends on a backyard trampoline in the Jordan neighborhood. She died 12 days later at North Memorial Hospital.
But hers was far from the only family shattered by the stray violence that season. Aniya Allen was just 6 years old when she died after being shot while riding in the back of a car on the 3500 block of Penn Avenue North in the city’s Folwell neighborhood. And 10-year-old Ladavionne Garrett Jr. spent months in the hospital after being shot while riding home with his parents.
'Thank God, somebody told something'
Since those days of that late spring of 2021, the families of the three children have bonded in what they describe as nearly unthinkable circumstances.
“It’s almost, like, made us family, you know?” said K.G. Wilson, Aniya’s grandfather, adding: “We have been brought together from the tragedy, from the tears, from the hurt.”
Wilson – who’s also long been an activist against violence in the city – noted that the families first connected in the hospital while their children were still fighting for their lives. And while Aniya and Trinity lost that battle, he notes the families now all hold out for justice.
“If nobody never would have said anything, we’d still be talking about trying to get justice for Trinity,” K.G. said, adding, “Thank God, somebody told something.”
To be clear, the activist welcomes closure in Trinity’s case – he says it’s overdue. But the grandfather still longs for answers his family desperately needs.
“I get to see what justice for an innocent child looks like. I don’t know what it feels like… but I know what it looks like, you know? It’s hope,” the activist said while shaking his head and calling for people to come forward. “I need them to be there for me. I need them to be there for me.”
Anyone with any information about the shootings of Aniya Allen or Ladavionne Garrett Jr. is urged to call the police.
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