Community members demanding a crackdown after spikes in violence tied to Somali gangs

A packed crowd once again filled Edina City Hall Tuesday night where public comments mainly focused on local gun violence.

Edina resident Steve Clausen detailed a series of incidents he and his family have witnessed in the community over the last year, ranging from a vehicle break-in, to an assault at a school parking lot.

Clausen says current safety strategies are falling short.

"You know, if people break the law, they have to be held accountable to the fullest extent," he said. "We can't just continue to let this happen. We need to put people behind bars where appropriate."

Other speakers also pressed for stricter law enforcement accountability and tighter gun regulations from city leaders.

It's hardly been limited to Edina, however. The meeting follows calls from leaders in surrounding cities for a regional task force to address gang-related gun violence.

The meeting began with public comments, including those from members of the Somali community. St. Louis Park resident Lu Mohamed urged city leaders to also hold parents responsible for the problems they are facing with their kids.

"I find it very hard to accept that parents are completely unaware of where their children are at late at night," said Mohamed. "For example, just gallivanting around in the evening, in the night, and that is something that they do need to take accountability for."

City leaders say heightened safety measures remain in place around affected neighborhoods, and they plan to review concerns, and ideas from residents as they try to strengthen their public safety strategy.

The meeting took place after a number of significant calls from law enforcement on Tuesday for a more unified effort across the Twin Cities to deal with Somali gangs who have been responsible for a series of gun violence incidents.

Those incidents have been spread all across the metro, including at Eden Prairie's homecoming football game last Friday, highlighting the gang's mobility.

That ability to move all across the metro is something Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges called challenging, and a reason they're calling for new policy to address the gun violence they say is tied to East African and Somali communities.

Hodges says these gangs aren't like those of the past. These are far from inner-city gangs, dealing with drugs. And that's a big reason much of the activity has taken place in suburbs, and in the case of Edina and Eden Prairie, very well-to-do suburbs.

"These kids have come from good homes and they have money," Hodges says. "They're living in houses that cost more than my mortgage, so they're out here simply shooting each other based on social media beefs."

Hodges also singled out Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty over policies to decline charges, even when police find guns during petty misdemeanor traffic stops.

"She is declining those cases because of her policy of not wanting to charge people who were stopped for petty misdemeanor traffic stops or she will call them pre-sexual stops or non-public safety stops," Hodges explains. "We've all seen it."

In September 2025, Moriarty announced her office would discontinue prosecuting cases that stem from "pretext" or low-level traffic stops. The Attorney's Office says stops for things like headlight issues, or broken tail lights target Black drivers disproportionately, and don't result in enough serious criminal charges.

Monday saw another shooting in Bloomington, with over 100 rounds fired. There were no deaths and only a minor injury, but another example of the violence stemming from those gang conflicts.

Hodges had a stern message for the perpetrators.

"You know that I know, that you know that I know, that we know who you are," Hodges said. "So my suggestion is, you turn yourself in."

Eden Prairie Chief Matt Hackett suspects the two recent incidents in his city are connected. After the shooting outside their homecoming football game Friday, four people were taken into custody Monday night following a shooting at an Eden Prairie gas station.

"Based on the investigation to date, we do believe this may be connected to other recent incidents," Hackett added.

Edina Police Chief Todd Milburn says there are no arrests so far, and a reason for that is the victims aren't willing to cooperate with police.

"We have witnesses. We have victims who know exactly what happened, are not being forthcoming with what they know, and that's hampering our investigations," Milburn adds.