Minneapolis public safety leaders are speaking out about a rise in shootings in the city following a deadly weekend that included two mass shootings.
Law enforcement and city representatives gathered overnight to address community concerns after recent gun violence has left one person dead and 13 wounded.
Minneapolis police announced they're increasing targeted patrols in high crime corridors, including the Uptown area, according to Assistant Chief of Operations Mark Klukow.
"What we endeavored to do is work with our partners from Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, with Metropolitan Transit, with the Park Police, to make sure that we can introduce these criminals to the next layer of the criminal justice system, your city, your county, and your federal prosecutors," Klukow says.
He says MPD leadership plans to hold additional meetings with local business owners this week to lay out a long-term violence prevention strategy.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt says that severe police staffing shortages have impacted their overall response efforts.
"When we do not have the numbers that we need, we do rely on tools to help us," Witt says. "Data, that's big. Cameras, that's another big one. All of those things that help us get to people who are terrorizing our communities on a daily basis."
MPD officers are urging residents to advocate for more security cameras and gunshot detection systems in neighborhoods like Uptown, as well as calling for more follow-through from prosecutors for repeat gun offenders.
Meanwhile, the City Council has placed the liquor license for the Reign Event Center under review after nine people were shot early Sunday.
