It's been a week since Golden Valley Police say a group of kids attacked a woman in her 80s who was simply outside watering her lawn.
Chief Virgil Green says there are still no arrests.
It happened in broad daylight and now Chief Green is laying out his next steps to keep people safe in a city that's already down about half of its officers.
"I think we were scared," said Penny Thompson-Burke, who lives on the block where the crime happened. "Nobody wants anything like that to happen."
Police say when the victim tried to close her garage door, the suspects prevented her from doing so, demanded her car keys and pushed her to the ground. When she started to scream, the suspects fled the area without the car. The victim suffered a broken arm during the incident.
"I think the most important thing is for people to be looking out for each other and be aware of our surroundings," said Thompson-Burke, who's also the neighborhood association's co-captain.
She expects to meet with Chief Green soon. It was his idea to meet with all the block captains and address concerns and frustrations, along with increased patrols. He says the captains can expect a call to set up a meeting with the week.
"We’re going to do everything we can to make sure that every neighborhood is safe," said Chief Green.
This comes at a time when the department is still down some 15 officers and has been for some time. It's relying on Hennepin County sheriff's deputies to respond to calls throughout the day.
Chief Green is adamant this crime, though, isn't due to staffing shortages.
"We could have 31 officers and these things will still happen," said Chief Green. "It's going to be very important that the Hennepin County attorney makes sure these kids, when they do commit these crimes, that these kids are going to be held responsible and not just be released the next day to their parents."
The Hennepin County Attorney’s office says it does not decide if someone is held at the juvenile detention center or released to their parents. That is a function of the detention center’s policy initially and ultimately a decision a judge makes.
Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty did just announce a new community collaboration to share info about at-risk youth. Moriarty said the goal of the new collaboration is to intervene early to avoid escalating criminal activity, like carjacking, and keep kids out of the criminal justice system.
The new effort involves meetings between law enforcement and a team made up of county attorneys, child protective services, social workers and educators to identify and share information about at-risk youth. The group can then contact families and connect them with community resources.
Chief Green says he's about to add five new officers to his staff. And he expects to drop its mutual aid agreement with Hennepin County no later than December.
"I believe within the next couple of months, our staffing is going to be back up to where the minimum of officers that we need," said Chief Green. "We’re going to do everything we can to make sure we address any concerns anybody have with this crime or any other type of crimes."
As for the victim in this latest case, police say she has a broken arm. And while the suspects haven't been found, the stolen car they were in at the time was recovered a few days later in St. Paul.