A Minneapolis man recounted a terrifying experience of being robbed at gunpoint by three juveniles outside his Uptown residence late Friday night, in what he described as a “military-style” operation.
The incident occurred around 10:30 p.m. near 43rd Street and Lyndale Avenue.
John Christopher, 55, said he had just entered his vehicle and was adjusting the air conditioning when the car doors flew open.
“All of a sudden, both of my car doors pop open, and I have three guns on me,” Christopher said.
He said the assailants were all dressed in black and wearing ski masks. Two of them were armed with pistols, while the third held a Draco—a semi-automatic firearm resembling an assault rifle with a pistol grip.
‘Don’t shoot me, don’t kill me’
“They said, ‘Get out of the car, give us your money,'” Christopher recounted. “I said, ‘Don’t shoot me, don’t kill me, I’ll give you my wallet.'”
Christopher complied, handing over his wallet before the two individuals with handguns fled the scene. However, the juvenile with the AR-style weapon lingered, keeping his gun trained on Christopher.
“He took a step back like he was about to shoot, waited like three seconds, and then ran off,” Christopher said. “I just said, ‘Thank you, God, thank you, God.’ I guess it wasn’t my time.”
Rising concerns over youth crime
Christopher described the three suspects as dark-skinned males between 13 and 14 years old, with slim builds and standing between 5’2” and 5’4”. He expressed shock at their age, noting that their coordinated, “military-style” approach suggested they had done this before.
“It definitely didn’t seem like a first-time thing,” he said.
Christopher, who has lived in the Uptown area for the past seven years, says he has personally witnessed four attempted vehicle thefts outside his residence in the past five months. He’s been able to stop the thefts by pressing the panic button on his key fob.
Each time he reported an attempted car theft to 911, Christopher says the dispatcher informed him that the Minneapolis Police Department [MPD] lacks the resources and detectives needed to address the issue.
Christopher expressed frustration with the current state of public safety in Minneapolis.
“If they don’t have more officers, if they don’t enforce the law, if they don’t change the policies on juvenile crime so underage criminals aren’t set free, it’s not going to get better; it’s going to get worse,” Christopher said.
Drive-by shooting involving juveniles rocks community
Christopher’s robbery occurred a little more than 24 hours before a drive-by shooting in North Minneapolis that left four juveniles injured. The victims, aged 11 to 14, were riding in a stolen vehicle when they were targeted by automatic gunfire on West Broadway Avenue around 1 a.m. Sunday morning.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara addressed the media, expressing concerns over the rise of youth crime in the city.
“The idea of catch and release with violent juveniles is not working; it’s not fair to the kids involved or to the victims of serious crime,” O’Hara stated, noting that two of the juveniles involved in the incident had been arrested just two weeks prior for being in a stolen car.
“The time they [could’ve] spent detained would have allowed the system to identify resources to help them, instead of immediately releasing them back into the same environment that led to the same outcome,” O’Hara added.
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara slams County Attorney Mary Moriarty after 4 kids were shot in a stolen vehicle: "The county attorney's office isn't listening … the county attorney's office is playing a dangerous game with these kids' lives." pic.twitter.com/7nQxj1zfle
— Alpha News (@AlphaNewsMN) August 21, 2024
A spokesperson for Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty disputed O’Hara’s claims, saying that none of the juveniles involved had been referred to the county attorney’s office for early intervention in auto theft cases.
O’Hara countered, stating, “Two of the kids involved in this incident are in the county attorney’s YGVI [Youth Group Violence Intervention] program, so to say otherwise is simply not true.”
O’Hara also spoke about the desperation of the juveniles’ parents, some of whom had been pleading for intervention.
“We have several parents of the kids involved in this weekend’s shooting asking us to arrest their children—begging us to detain them—because they can’t control them and are afraid they’re going to get killed,” O’Hara stated.
“The county attorney’s office is playing a dangerous game with these kids’ lives.”
Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association statement
In response to the rise in juvenile crime, the Hennepin County Chiefs of Police Association, representing nearly three dozen law enforcement agencies across Hennepin County, released the following statement:
“Our thoughts go out to the youth shot and injured in Minneapolis over the weekend. As law enforcement, we work tirelessly every day to keep our communities safe and work to prevent these senseless acts of violence.
Across our communities, auto theft remains a serious problem, and we are often seeing the same juveniles arrested again and again for these crimes. Moreover, carjacking often leads to other violent crimes, putting both the juveniles committing these crimes and the community at serious risk.
Families of these young people and our communities look to us as leaders to hold these juveniles accountable and keep our cities safe. We hope that the Hennepin County Attorney will work with law enforcement to hold criminals accountable, get youth the interventions they need, and work to prevent recidivism. Pointing fingers is unproductive and a disservice to our young people, our communities, and those who rightfully expect us to work together to solve these problems and prioritize the safety and well-being of our citizens.”
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.
