Rash of U of M campus area robberies, over 85 auto thefts in Mpls. last weekend

The Minneapolis Crime Dashboard for the period of Friday through Sunday shows 86 auto thefts.

By
Crime Watch MN
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A woman was attacked in a violent robbery Sunday near the University of Minnesota. (Screen capture from video)

The area surrounding the University of Minnesota Twin Cities campus suffered a rash of violent robberies in the last few days, and the suspects may have been connected to an auto theft spree in another part of the city over the weekend.

Several reports surfaced early evening on Sunday of an apparent auto theft spree in Northeast Minneapolis where a group or groups of males were stealing and ransacking vehicles in the area of 23rd and University Avenue NE and on an adjacent block near 19th Avenue NE and 3rd Street NE, according to police scanner audio. One witness said one of the suspects threatened to get a “machine gun.”

Another report to Crime Watch Minneapolis the same day said nine vehicles had been stolen from near a craft vendor market event on the 1300 block of Quincy Street NE.

Crime Watch later obtained video of a violent robbery of a young woman that had occurred in the U of M area about 5:30 p.m. Sunday, which was about an hour prior to the Northeast Minneapolis auto theft spree.

The video shows two male suspects attacking a woman in the area of 11th Avenue SE and 7th Street SE, knocking her to the ground, kicking her, and stealing her purse and cellphone. The woman put up a struggle and fought back. Dispatch audio indicated that there were three suspect vehicles, which can be seen in the video.

After the video was posted online, a witness to the University Avenue auto thefts contacted Crime Watch and said the male suspect in the white hoodie who kicked the woman was one of the suspects they’d seen ransacking vehicles in Northeast Minneapolis.

The U of M had also issued an alert about another robbery that occurred about 4 p.m. on Sunday in Dinkytown in the 1200 block of 8th Street SE.

The robberies continued into Monday and Tuesday, with a strong-arm robbery of a woman taking place about 5:15 p.m. on Monday at 14th Avenue SE and 6th Street SE, which was also captured in a brief video.

Another robbery occurred on Tuesday about 1:15 p.m. on the 200 block of 6th Street SE. The dispatcher indicated that the same suspects were possibly involved in an attempted auto theft nearby, as well as another theft incident on the 300 block of 2nd Street SE.

Police told media that the suspects involved in at least three of the U of M area robberies on Sunday and Monday were suspected in at least eight robberies and attempted carjackings in Minneapolis on Sunday.

The Minneapolis Police Crime Dashboard for the period of Friday through Sunday shows 86 auto thefts, with 17 of them occurring in the Second Police Precinct area, which includes northeast, southeast, and the U of M areas. There were an additional 52 auto thefts across south Minneapolis.

There were 16 robberies over the three days, which included at least three carjackings. Crime Watch also reported three additional attempted carjackings over the weekend. Additionally, the Crime Dashboard shows 76 assaults, 51 other thefts, and 20 ShotSpotter activations over the weekend.

At the time of this report, there had been no announcement by the Minneapolis Police Department or U of M police about any arrests connected to the numerous incidents.

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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
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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.

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