Multiple violent incidents took place over the holiday weekend in Dinkytown, adjacent to the University of Minnesota campus, just days before fall classes began this week.
The violence also elicited the need for extra law enforcement resources, and “dozens of guns” were encountered by police, sources said.
The violence began early Friday morning around 2:30 a.m., when a stabbing occurred in the heart of Dinkytown near the intersection of Southeast 4th Street and 13th Avenue Southeast.
A video clip submitted to Crime Watch Minneapolis showed first responders assisting an apparently injured male on the ground. Publicly available emergency dispatches at the time indicated that an approximately 21-year-old male had been stabbed multiple times.
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Dinkytown Minneapolis stabbing suspect charged.https://t.co/lgVdXOhbeD— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) September 9, 2026
A search of jail records revealed the arrest of Nicholas Steven Nunez Rodriguez, 19, who was charged on Tuesday with second-degree assault with a weapon causing substantial bodily harm.
Charges say the stabbing followed an altercation between two parties. The injured party was stabbed multiple times in the torso and sustained a collapsed lung. Nunez Rodriguez was arrested a short time later, after Minneapolis Park Police spotted him skateboarding at Elliot Park in downtown Minneapolis. Nunez Rodriguez admitted the knife he used was in his pocket.
Nunez Rodriguez remained in custody as of early Wednesday morning on $50,000 bail.
Early Sunday morning, again around 2:30 a.m., two people were shot at nearly the same location in Dinkytown. Emergency dispatch audio at the time indicated that two males, approximately 19 and 20, had sustained gunshot injuries to the legs.
SE Minneapolis Dinkytown UMN – SHOOTING 2::35 a.m., multiple source say it was Somalis. VIDEOS attached.
Male, 19, shot in the thigh.
Male, 20, shot in the knee. pic.twitter.com/Da5KRepU1B— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) September 6, 2026
A spokesperson from the Minneapolis Police Department later issued a statement which said in part:
“Officers from the 2nd Precinct responded to the area of 4th St SE and 13th Ave SE to assist the University of Minnesota Police Department with several disturbances near that intersection when officers heard gunshots. Two adult male victims were found with suspected gunshot wounds and provided aid until paramedics arrived. Both victims were transported to a local area hospital for further care by ambulance.
Officers detained several people at the scene, ultimately arresting one adult male who had a handgun without a permit to carry—the adult male was booked at the Hennepin County Jail for the weapons violation. Several other handguns were also recovered from the scene and held as evidence.
The two shooting victims’ condition was later updated as non-life-threatening by medical staff at the hospital.”
A check of jail records shows the 18-year-old male being held on probable cause weapons had not yet been charged as of early Wednesday morning.
Activity continued Labor Day evening into the Northeast Minneapolis area, where “over 100 cars” were reported to be gathered near the Quarry Shopping Center, near 18th and Johnson Street Northeast. The location was recently highlighted by Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher as a gathering place for Somali gang members, and where violence and shootings have occurred.
Submitted report of Somali mayhem in NE Minneapolis overnight at the Quarry shopping center.
"Over 100+ cars of Somali young adults and multiple agencies of police including Minneapolis police, Minnesota State troopers, Hennepin county sheriffs and seen Ramsey county squads. I… pic.twitter.com/94h4YmRAp8— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) September 8, 2026
Several sources with knowledge of the Dinkytown and Northeast Minneapolis incidents reached out to both Alpha News and Crime Watch following the holiday weekend with tips that resources from other agencies had to be pulled into Dinkytown following the stabbing and shootings, and that over 30 guns had been encountered by law enforcement.
Sources said that over 30 State Patrol troopers and over 30 Department of Natural Resources (DNR) conservation officers were requested to assist Minneapolis in patrolling the Dinkytown area Sunday night. One source said the law enforcement presence was “massive” until about 3:30 a.m. Monday and that several streets were blocked off to vehicles. Alpha News reached out to both the State Patrol and the DNR to confirm the number of officers deployed by each to Minneapolis over the weekend and whether overtime hours were used but did not receive any replies prior to publication.
One source relayed to Crime Watch that due to the large crowds in Dinkytown, police were checking vehicles to make sure the occupants were nearby residents or had reason to be in the area. The source said that “there were dozens of vehicles with young Somali males fully occupied shouting obscenities, causing increased gridlock, and confronting police officers.”
Additional sources said that various law enforcement task forces were making traffic stops in Dinkytown, during which they encountered about 30 guns. One source said about six guns were seized, while the rest were reportedly possessed by persons with a permit-to-carry. Alpha News reached out to both the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office (HCSO) and Minneapolis Police for confirmation on the number of guns encountered or seized Sunday night. A reply from MPD did not address that specific information and HCSO had not replied by the time of publication.
Yet another source in a message to Crime Watch tied the area activity to Somali gangs, with the source saying “hundreds” of gang members were “all over the fair, outside the fair, and at the Quarry” and other gathering spots. The source indicated new gangs were popping up and indicated that the public wasn’t being adequately informed because so many police agencies have moved to encrypted radios.
The State of Minnesota and Ramsey County recently took the unusual step of suing to stop the Somali gangs from attending the Minnesota State Fair or engaging in gang activity on or around the grounds.
A source told Crime Watch, “The fair didn’t see any shootings this year, but it doesn’t mean it wasn’t pure chaos.”
Crime Watch received several separate reports on the last night of the fair that large groups of Somalis tried to gain entry by hopping fences or rushing gates. A State Fair first responder dispatch at one point warned responders that they were about to get “mobbed.” Based on subsequent dispatches and reports, it seems most groups were thwarted before entering.
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Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
Crime Watch MN
Minnesota Crime Watch & Information publishes news, info and commentary about crime, public safety and livability issues in Minneapolis, the Twin Cities and Greater Minnesota.
