Minneapolis activist with warning 5 years after granddaughter killed: "Somebody else is going to be shot"

Allen was in the backseat of a car with her mother, eating a Happy Meal when she was killed. No one has been arrested in the shooting.

Now, longtime Minneapolis community organizer KG Wilson, who is Aniya’s grandfather, is returning to the street in an effort to stop anymore children from dying.

"Sadly, somebody else is going to be shot. Somebody else is gonna be killed," says Wilson, who spoke to WCCO's Chad Hartman Monday.

He knows that he can't save everyone. Aniya was one of three children shot in a three-week span in Minneapolis during a very dark time for the city. In 2025, there were 347 fewer shootings compared to 2021 at the peak of violent crime issues in the city after COVID and the George Floyd unrest.

The three young victims were:

• Ladavionne Garrett Jr. (10): Shot in the head on April 30 while riding in the backseat of his parents' car.
• Trinity Ottoson-Smith (9): Shot in the head on May 15 while jumping on a trampoline at a friend's birthday party.
• Aniya Allen (6): Shot in the head on May 17 while riding in her mother's car eating a Happy Meal; she died from her injuries on May 19.

"I couldn't save Aniya. I couldn't save the other two children, Trinity and Ladavionn, who were all shot back-to-back," Wilson adds. "But maybe, Chad, I could save somebody else's grandchild or maybe I could save somebody else's child."

Wilson also says that the streets have changed, and says the city's criminals are younger.

"There are younger criminals now, from 10-years-old to 15," Wilson explains. "They have gangs that age now, new gangs that are on the streets. They are stealing cars, carjacking, busting out people's windows."

Wilson also talked about the anniversary of his granddaughter's tragic death, and his renewed effort to prevent gun violence.

"My thing is, going to the places where nobody wants to go, and that's where I'm gonna go," Wilson said.