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Violence tied to Somali-American gangs in the Twin Cities metro erupted in recent days, with law enforcement recovering nearly 100 casings after a gunfight captured on a resident’s surveillance camera — as officials warn they need help to contain the problem before it escalates.
The warning follows a burst of violence across several Twin Cities suburbs — including a Bloomington shootout that left nearly 100 shell casings and another shooting in Eden Prairie — as law enforcement says the incidents have entered a retaliation cycle and officials race to disrupt the groups before the violence evolves into more entrenched drug- and money-driven crime.
"We have the opportunity to fix it," Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said of a surge in Somali gang violence across the Twin Cities — but warned authorities could be facing a much more difficult problem if the groups escalate the resources they use.
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"It’s early. Once they evolve into drugs, we’re in trouble. Once they evolve into money, more money, we are in trouble," said Fletcher, whose county is anchored by St. Paul and runs along the west bank of the Mississippi River.
Fletcher estimated that about 300 juveniles are involved and said part of the problem lies in the Somali gangs’ relative novelty to local law enforcement and what he characterized as a reluctance to aggressively prosecute offenders across the river in Minneapolis.
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"We need more people focused on this problem. Because 50 kids in this 300 need to go to jail, 25 need to be prosecuted by the feds for RICO and nd another 25 need to be prosecuted at the local level. Take 50 of the most active out of the mix, and we will see dramatic changes," he said.
He ascribed some of the reticence to neighboring Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, saying she has not been sufficiently "aggressive" in prosecuting such offenders.
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"One of the misconceptions is that somehow when you prosecute people, put them in jail that you're destituting them to some terrible life. This is how kids get corrected," he said.
Moriarty’s office pushed back on the assertion, with spokesman Daniel Borgertpoepping saying the neighboring communities are "looking for solutions" and that Moriarty’s prosecutors "communicate daily with law enforcement [and] will participate in any group that moves us toward sustainable public safety."
"The way we approach prosecution of violent crime is consistent regardless of the race or ethnicity of those involved," Borgertpoepping said.
Meanwhile, residents across the metro region expressed outrage to local officials over the violence and what they described as a growing threat to public safety.
Jared Scribner, a resident of nearby Edina, criticized officials for calling the issue "gun violence" and demanded they "confront what is happening even when the facts are politically uncomfortable."
Scribner said violence associated with the gangs erupted at a local homecoming event and at a park.
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"We don't need more virtue signaling, yard signs, DEI initiatives, or community conversations that lead to nowhere. We need competent government, accountability, and safe neighborhoods," he said, also blaming Moriarty’s office for "refu[sing]" to properly address the issue.
He also suggested officials have sometimes generalized the ethnicity of those involved, remarking that it "feels more comfortable for some people to say East African. I don't even know that that's a fair term, because 98% of these gang members are Somalians."
In nearby Bloomington, where about 100 casings were recovered from the scene of a late-night firefight that appeared to involve automatic weapons, Police Chief Booker Hodges took a confrontational tack toward the suspects who remained at large — while warning they do not fit the typical stereotype of gang members.
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"They're coming from two parent homes, living in apartment buildings with $3,500 a month rent, driving Beamers and Mercedes. They're not dealing with money. There's no drugs in the house. They're purchasing legal firearms," he said.
"To those of you who did this shooting, you know that I know that you know that I that we know who you are. So my suggestion is: you turn yourself in. Let's stop playing these games with you running around out here doing all this stuff," Hodges warned — as the violence draws national attention.
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