FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

August 13, 2021

Silence From Minneapolis City Leaders In Response To Community Stress, Trauma, And Violence

Minneapolis, MN— In just the last four days, the northside community of Minneapolis has experienced a terrifying amount of gunfire at all times of the day and night, in highly populated neighborhoods, near parks and outdoor pools; leaving children and families running for cover outside and inside of their homes. The names of the five people who were fatally shot have not been released; our condolences to the impacted families. To date, city leaders have not made any statements about actions they can and will take to address the immediate needs of the people impacted by this recent rise in community violence.

To fully understand the magnitude of community violence experienced during the last four days, view the City of Minneapolis’ Shots Fired Map. According to the Shots Fired Map, during August 7th – 10th, 2021:

• 17 shooting incidents were reported, including 5 fatal shooting incidents; 5 people died from gunshot wounds and 12 people survived;
• 14 of the shooting incidents occurred in north Minneapolis, 4 fatal incidents;
• 2 shooting incidents occurred in south Minneapolis, 1 fatal incident;
• 1 shooting incident occurred in downtown Minneapolis, 0 fatal incidents;
• 97 incidents of gunfire were detected in north Minneapolis and 6 incidents in south Minneapolis by the City’s shotspotter’s devices.

Note: A shotspotter incident does not equal the number of bullets detected; many bullets could be fired and detected in a single incident.

As some may recall, on June 17th, 2020, the mayor and city council declared racism a public health emergency in Minneapolis and published a Resolution with ten actions to address systemic racism in the city, acknowledging the “severe impact racism has on the well-being of residents and overall the city,” with promises of funding, resources and staff to address the harm caused by racism and white supremacy, including the following action: “Develop a comprehensive rapid response protocol to immediate needs and long-term work to address systemic inequities.This includes activating the Office of Emergency Management and Incident Command System, the Health Department, the Division of Race & Equity, and other public facing departments to respond to community stress and trauma.”.

Right now, city leaders need to hold themselves accountable to the promises they made to the community over a year ago to provide resources, including financial resources “to respond to the community stress and trauma.” Emergency resources are needed for mental health, chemical health, medical health, housing and basic needs. We at Racial Justice Network want city leaders to share their “comprehensive rapid response protocol” to address the urgent, and immediate needs for our children, youth, and families living in north Minneapolis. This is a public health crisis that must be addressed with a greater sense of urgency.

The Racial Justice Network (RJN) is a multi-racial, grassroots organization, committed to fighting for racial justice and building bridges across racial, social, and economic lines. racialjusticenetwork.com