Minneapolis police are investigating another homicide in the city's downtown area. "This is a repeated story around the nature of community violence," says Police Chief Brian O'Hara.
A 14-year-old boy was shot and killed Monday night in downtown Minneapolis following an apparent fight that happened near the Federal Reserve Bank building and the Hennepin Avenue bridge.
There are no arrests.
"The problem here is when teenagers have guns," O'Hara says. "And so, instead of settling a fight with fists and that kind of thing, this has now turned deadly, taking away the life of a teenager and changing others forever."
Police say the call of shots fired came in around 9:00 p.m. The victim was found on the ground with at least one gunshot wound, and died after he was taken to the hospital.
"Unfortunately, young people are oftentimes just as likely to get shot as they are to be involved in violence themselves," says O'Hara speaking with WCCO's Adam and Jordana Tuesday. "This is very, very tragic, but unfortunately, again, at least the last three years I've been here, it's been way too many cases of young people involved in serious crime and violence."
Investigators say about a dozen teenagers were involved in the fight that led to the shooting.
"The tough part about this for any parent is, we don't know who our kids are hanging out with once they're outside of our home," O'Hara explains. "Obviously, we do have a problem with kids that have access to guns. So the best advice I could say for parents is just to make sure you know who your kids are hanging around."
The chief says ultimately, it really comes down to guns.
"There has been a very, very large exponential increase in the amount of firearms in circulation post 2020. It's just a fact," O'Hara said.