A north Minneapolis daycare took incoming gunfire Tuesday evening while children were still inside and participating in a holiday event.
Police were alerted just after 5:15 p.m. Tuesday of a Shotspotter activation indicating seven rounds detected on the 3300 block of Penn Avenue North, according to dispatch audio. An officer responded back to the dispatcher that other officers were chasing a possible suspect in the area and that a male had thrown a gun over a fence.
Within minutes, a male was reported to be in custody, and a gun was reportedly recovered from a backyard. Meanwhile, the dispatcher told police that the nearby New Horizon Academy daycare on Penn Avenue had sustained bullet damage to a window.
An officer aired that rifle casings had been located in the alley on the 3300 block of Penn, which is the same block where the daycare is located. There were no reported injuries at the time of the incident.
Surveillance video and a separate audio clip reported to be the gunfire from the incident were subsequently posted online.
AUDIO from the gunshots that went through the north Minneapolis daycare.pic.twitter.com/Olu947BqVN
— CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) December 20, 2023
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara later told media that MPD officers and Hennepin County Sheriff’s deputies had been in the area on a focused enforcement detail in response to an ongoing “concentration of violence and gun crimes” at the time the shots went off, and they immediately started searching for the shooter.
Police eventually engaged with a potential suspect who was arrested and was in possession of a handgun, O’Hara said.
Chief O’Hara added that the daycare had been struck at least twice by gunfire, and that children had just left the room where the gunfire occurred to join other kids for an event to visit with Santa.
“It’s deeply concerning that we have people in the community that are willing to fire weapons and endanger everyone in these residences … and strike a daycare putting their lives at risk,” O’Hara said in the media briefing.
O’Hara also said he believes at least one other armed suspect from the incident is at large with a weapon that has not been recovered.
The daycare also released a prepared statement to media:
“At around 5:00 p.m. an isolated incident occurred in our community that impacted our school. There was stray gunfire that led to shattered windows in one of our preschool classrooms on the second floor of our building. There were no children or staff in the classroom at the time of the incident. Fortunately, no one was hurt. Our director immediately alerted authorities. Today, children are safely participating in daily learning activities with their early childhood educators.
“The safety and security of the children in our care and our early childhood educators is our utmost priority. We use the latest in security monitoring technology, including video surveillance of the property and classrooms and secured entrances.”
This is not the first time the daycare at this location has reportedly sustained gunfire. In July 2021, there was a report that staff had found a bullet hole in the microwave. In October 2017, local activist and photographer Phillip Murphy documented bullet damage to the daycare building. In 2015, Murphy documented a bus stop across the street from the daycare that had been shot up.
Information about the party arrested on Tuesday was not immediately made available, and there has been no information released from MPD on whether the second possible suspect has been identified or arrested.
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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.
