North Minneapolis faith leaders call for more resources, action after shooting of four children

Brian Herron’s heart sank when he heard that four children had been shot and wounded over the weekend in north Minneapolis while riding in a stolen car.

“I was very emotional and very brokenhearted,” said Herron, senior pastor at Zion Baptist Church.

Herron knows some of the children’s parents. The victims were between ages 11 and 14. Later that same Sunday the children were shot, he delivered a sermon to his north Minneapolis congregation and prayed, feeling hope creep back in.

Herron and other faith leaders on the North Side have worked for decades to help youth involved in crime. Through programming and outreach on the streets, they strive to help children, their families and the community. They say the shooting underscores the necessity of their work, and call for more resources from the city and help from the community to combat youth crime.

“This may open a door for us to be able to connect with some of those families and see what we can do to help and to change the trajectory of those young people’s lives and the lives of maybe the adults in that family as well,” Herron said. “We have to take responsibility.”

Sunday’s shooting

Police responded to multiple ShotSpotter activations on the 1700 block of Girard Avenue North at about 1 a.m. Sunday. Police heard reports that multiple gunshot victims were located near the 1400 block of Plymouth Avenue North, and found five children in a stolen vehicle at the location; four sustained gunshot wounds.

The four victims, two boys and two girls, were taken to Hennepin Healthcare. Three of the children suffered non-life-threatening injuries, and the other sustained an apparent life-threatening injury. The fifth child was uninjured and transported home. A spokesperson for Hennepin Healthcare could not provide an update on the children’s conditions.

Police said the five children were in a stolen Kia when a dark colored sedan began firing shots at them. The sedan left the area before officers arrived. About 30 shell casings were found at the scene.

Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara has said that while thefts of Kia and Hyundai vehicles have decreased in the city, the crimes that young people are committing after they steal such cars has become more “brazen.”

“Four kids shot between eleven and fourteen is outrageous and everyone should be up in arms over it,” O’Hara said at a Sunday news briefing. “The police are doing everything that we can in response to this, but we can’t keep responding after the fact. More needs to be done to deter this type of activity in the first place.”

No arrests have been made in the case as of Thursday, and police have not disclosed  a possible motive in the shooting.

North Minneapolis faith leaders react

Jerry McAfee, pastor at New Salem Missionary Baptist Church, wasn’t surprised when he heard about the shooting.

“The only surprise is that none died,” he said.

McAfee said serious crimes involving young children are not a new occurrence.

McAfee has been a pastor at New Salem for more than 30 years. He and Herron work together on an anti-violence initiative called 21 Days of Peace. They identify high crime areas in the city, and occupy those streets every day. They help connect people with resources like housing, food and employment. They have also been targeting areas popular with young people, and are working to establish a presence at North Commons Park.

“It wasn’t so much a matter of always trying to displace people, but find out what their issues are and meet the need,” McAfee said of their efforts.

The community hasn’t received the support and funding it needs from city leaders to tackle the issue, he added.

“Those of us who are doing the work, we don’t get any help from the city,” McAfee said. “It’s sad, and it’s all politics.”

The young age of children involved in or victimized by crime is alarming, Herron said.

“I can’t imagine being shot at 11 years old, not even 14, not even 15,” Herron said. “Looking at these young people, how do you get caught up so young in activities that put your life in danger like that?”

Herron added that it’s important to work with leaders across different faiths. He’s connected with Makram El-Amin, the imam at Masjid An-Nur.

El-Amin’s mosque has a nonprofit called Al-Maa’uun, which helps community members experiencing poverty, substance abuse and other issues. Al-Maa’uun also has a mentorship program to help youth called Sahabah, which means companion in Arabic.

He encourages community members to mentor youth, whether it’s through the Sahabah program or another organization.

“We want to be companions, kind of help them walk their journey, help them navigate through the challenges of life,” El-Amin said.

Everyone in the community, from schools to places of worship, play a role in supporting youth, and more should be done to prevent incidents like this from happening, he said.

“When I heard about these young people, I knew that directly or even indirectly, perhaps indirectly, there’s still blood on my hands too,” he said. “I have to accept some level of responsibility even if it’s an indirect way. Just to say, ‘What more could I have done?’”

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