What was supposed to be a memorable day of football for young athletes turned into a nightmare last Saturday when a youth football coach’s SUV was stolen and other vehicles were reportedly broken into or tampered with outside U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis.
Jeff Wilson, a business owner from Cresco, Iowa, told Alpha News he had traveled to Minneapolis to coach fifth- and sixth-grade football teams during a special event that gave young athletes the opportunity to play on the same field as the Minnesota Vikings.
But while the children were enjoying their time inside the stadium, thieves were apparently having a field day outside.
Wilson said his 2022 Ford Explorer was stolen from a paid parking lot less than 100 feet from the stadium’s entrance.
Seven other vehicles belonging to families who traveled to Minneapolis together for the youth football event were also broken into, he said, with thieves making off with purses, wallets, cash, coats and shopping bags.
All of it happened in broad daylight, between approximately 2 and 4 p.m., just steps from one of the city’s most recognizable landmarks, in an area Wilson said was covered by surveillance cameras.
And according to Wilson, getting Minneapolis police to respond proved nearly as frustrating as the theft itself.
“Our Ford Explorer got stolen, and these people all got broken into, and the cops won’t even show up,” Wilson said in a Facebook Live video recorded from the parking lot that has since garnered more than 1.7 million views.
‘Chaos in the parking lot’
Wilson, who has coached youth football for 20 years, organized the trip involving four teams from Iowa.
He said he initially didn’t realize his own SUV was missing because he was busy helping other families who had discovered their vehicles had been burglarized.
“There was chaos in the parking lot,” Wilson told Alpha News, describing families returning to find their vehicles ransacked and personal belongings missing.
Wilson said some of the out-of-town families had shopped at the Mall of America before the games, only to return and discover their purchases had been stolen. He believes the stadium’s strict bag policy contributed to the problem, as families were unable to bring purses and other belongings inside and had left them in their vehicles.
Wilson acknowledged leaving his key fob inside his locked Explorer, intending to use the vehicle’s exterior keypad to get back in. He believes thieves broke a window, discovered the fob and drove away.
But what happened next left him particularly frustrated.
Wilson said several people called 911, only to be told police didn’t have the resources to respond and that victims should contact their insurance companies. He said it took approximately four calls from the group, including three he personally made, before an officer arrived about an hour and 20 minutes later.
When officers finally responded, Wilson said they explained that Minneapolis police were short-staffed and overwhelmed with higher-priority calls.
“They just said they’re very short-staffed, and they just don’t have time for these kinds of calls,” Wilson told Alpha News.
Wilson said one officer described the staggering volume of property crimes police deal with daily.
“He said, ‘If you knew how many car and house break-ins there were a day, you’d be astonished,'” Wilson recalled. “It’s just every 10 minutes, there’s a call with a car break-in.”
Wilson said the officer suggested his Explorer would likely turn up abandoned within a few days but cautioned him not to expect much investigative follow-up, even though surveillance cameras were visible nearby.
What really troubled Wilson was the boldness of the crimes. His SUV was parked less than 100 feet from the stadium entrance, surrounded by cameras, with thousands of people in the area for events.
“The brazenness, you know, these people are not scared,” Wilson said. “They know the [police] response is going to be slow.”
From an NFL dream to a nightmare
For Lindsay, a Chisago County mother of three, what should have been an unforgettable day watching her fourth-grade son play football at U.S. Bank Stadium ended with a burglarized vehicle, stolen belongings and a frightened child.
Lindsay told Alpha News that she and her family returned to the parking lot after the game to discover their vehicle had been ransacked, her purse and wallet stolen, and the passenger-side mirror and window mechanism damaged.
“Our car was broken into, my purse is missing, our car was ransacked,” she recalled telling the 911 dispatcher.
Lindsay explained that although the window glass itself had not shattered, someone had apparently damaged the mechanism inside the door, causing the window to drop and leaving the family unable to roll it back up.
“They must have stuck something in the window to bust the mechanism in the door that puts the window up and down,” said Lindsay. “So, they busted that to drop the window down and we had to drive with the window down the whole way home.”
She said she called 911 to request an officer and file a police report but was told she could wait, although it might be hours before someone arrived.
“They might not come, or it might be hours before they get there,” Lindsay recalled being told. She said the dispatcher also directed her to a Minneapolis website where she could file a report online.
Lindsay said that she waited approximately 40 minutes without an officer arriving and decided to leave. It was Halloween, and she had three young children waiting to get home for trick-or-treating.
Before leaving, she gave her contact information to another family whose vehicle had been burglarized, asking them to pass it along to police if officers eventually arrived.
“I’ve tried to call the Minneapolis Police Department today. It just rings and rings and rings. No one answers. No one has returned any of my calls,” she said. “How can we reach out to our insurance company when we have no police report?”
But perhaps the most troubling part of the experience was its impact on her son.
Just hours earlier, the fourth-grader had been living out a young football player’s dream, taking the field inside the Minnesota Vikings’ stadium. By the time the family headed home, that excitement had turned to fear.
“He was terrified,” Lindsay said, recounting her son repeatedly worrying that whoever stole his mother’s wallet now had their home address because her identification was inside.
“It’s just very discouraging that this is what the world has come to,” she said. “It’s so sad.”
‘I’m probably not going to do that again’
Meanwhile, Wilson said the incident has already had repercussions beyond his own family.
Wilson told Alpha News that parents and organizers of other youth football teams scheduled to play at U.S. Bank Stadium last Sunday contacted him after seeing his now-viral video, saying they no longer planned to make the trip to Minneapolis.
For Wilson, the incident has left a bitter impression.
“I was inviting people up there to have great experiences with being able to play on the Viking stadium, and I’m probably not going to do that again,” he said.
His advice to others considering a trip to Minneapolis is to “be aware of their surroundings” and understand that the city is different from the small towns many visitors call home. But his biggest concern, he says, is about the police response and what he believes is a growing sense among criminals that they can operate without fear of consequences.
MPD responds
In response to questions from Alpha News, the Minneapolis Police Department confirmed that officers responded to the incident but documented only two vehicles: one involving an auto theft and another involving property stolen from a vehicle.
Police said there was no apparent damage to either vehicle, including no signs of forced entry, such as broken glass, near where Wilson’s SUV had been parked.
However, Wilson and Lindsay said several affected families had already left before officers arrived, which could explain the discrepancy between the number of vehicles reported by Wilson and those documented by police.
MPD also pushed back on Wilson’s account of the response time, saying officers arrived approximately 22 minutes after the call was dispatched. However, MPD acknowledged that its records might not include earlier calls that were not transferred or dispatched to officers.
MPD also said a preliminary review of 911 records did not indicate that callers were instructed to contact their insurance companies because officers were unavailable.
“The responding officer did not tell Mr. Wilson that his case would not be investigated because vehicle break-ins are common in Minneapolis,” MPD said. “The officer apologized for the perceived delay in response and explained that auto theft reports are a lower-priority call type. The officer also explained that staffing shortages can contribute to longer response times.”
Police confirmed the investigation remains open and active but declined to provide additional details about surveillance footage or potential suspects.
Jenna Gloeb
Jenna Gloeb is an Edward R. Murrow Award-winning journalist, media producer, public speaker, and screenwriter. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and on-air host for CCX Media. Jenna is a Minnesota native and resides in the Twin Cities with her husband, son, daughter, and two dogs.
