A troubled south Minneapolis two-block stretch has seen at least 170 incidents this month requiring first responders to be dispatched, including drug activity, fires, suspicious persons, and shootings.
The area of East Lake Street on either side of 35W has long been a hub of drug and violent activity, with a concentration of activity from Stevens Avenue to Nicollet Avenue and stretching a block to the north to the Midtown Greenway. A paved pathway between 35W and Stevens Avenue connects Lake Street to the Midtown Greenway, and the area has been plagued with homeless/drug encampments and loitering that fuel the violent activity.
According to police reports tracked by Crime Watch Minneapolis, there have been at least 170 calls to 911 that resulted in police or fire department responses to the area of Lake Street between Stevens and Nicollet since Oct. 1.
South Minneapolis – At least 170 police or first responder incidents near 1st and E Lake St since Oct 1, plus dozens more in the surrounding block.
Narcotics, weapons, overdoses, suspicious persons, assaults, shootings, fights, disturbances.
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The calls include several overdoses or narcotics activity, assaults, police chases, disturbances, outside fires, and fights, as well as weapons and shootings.
There was a fatal shooting on Oct. 7 at the Midtown Greenway and Stevens Avenue, a non-fatal shooting on Oct. 11 near 1st and Lake Street where a 17-year-old male was shot in the leg, and a non-fatal shooting at 1st and Lake Street on Oct. 16 where a man was reportedly shot in the abdomen.
The data derived from Minneapolis police incident reports also shows upwards of an additional 50 incidents responded to in the immediate surrounding block south to 31st Street between Stevens and Nicollet avenues, which consist of similar reports of weapons, assaults, and overdoses.
The area has also been a gathering spot in the past for illegal aliens hoping to be picked up for day labor.
Most details of the numerous incidents are concealed from the public, without making data requests for each case, due to the police department’s move to radio encryption last year.
The area at 35W also houses a transit hub serviced by the Metro Transit Police Department, which keeps separate crime reports and statistics that are not included on MPD’s 911 and crime dashboards and are not readily accessible to the public. So, the number of incidents being responded to is even greater than the limited public data made available from MPD would indicate.
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Minneapolis/Twin Cities 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.
