Robbers shoot man, 25, in head
Mother's purse stolen after man's family finished dining out
BY FREDERICK MELO Pioneer Press
A 25-year-old man leaving a restaurant in Minneapolis' bustling Uptown area was shot in the head late Saturday, moments after his mother gave up her purse to two robbers without resisting, according to Minneapolis police and witnesses.
Authorities called the brazen and unprovoked attack near Calhoun Square the latest in a surge of violent robberies in the southwest Minneapolis precinct that includes the popular entertainment district.
The shooting occurred just before 10 p.m. as the man and his mother, sister and a female friend were walking toward their car, which was parked on a residential block of Girard Avenue South near the Calhoun Square parking ramp.
Citing the family's preferences, police declined to identify the man, who was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center. Authorities said he was in critical condition Sunday.
Minneapolis police spokesman Ron Reier said the three women were not injured. He said police are asking for the public's help identifying the attackers. The suspects were described as wearing dark, hooded sweat shirts. The men fled on foot, and at least one of them may have jumped into a white car parked in a nearby alleyway.
Police inspector Kris Arneson called the shooting unprovoked.
"What we know is there was not a struggle," she said. "The suspects ran, and there was a white car seen leaving the scene."
Family members were returning to their car after dining at a restaurant at the corner of Hennepin Avenue and Lake Street with the man's mother, who was visiting Minnesota from Virginia, Arneson said. Police did not identify the restaurant.
Some Uptown residents said muggings and robberies have escalated throughout the busy entertainment district and asked for greater police protection.
"People flock from the suburbs to come here," said 23-year-old Mitch Skinner, a recent college graduate who moved into the area last year. "It's just creepy that it was a family going out to dinner."
Arneson, the precinct commander, said robbery reports in the southwest Minneapolis precinct have jumped about 67 percent since this time last year, climbing from 60 to 100. Aggravated robberies involving weapons or violence increased even more dramatically during the same period, doubling from 27 to 60, she said.
The precinct is bounded by Interstate 35W on the east, Interstate 94 to the north and the city limits on the west and south.
At a news conference Sunday, City Council Member Ralph Remington joined Reier and Arneson in promising greater numbers of officers in the area.
We are increasing the police presence," Remington said.
"We have to be sure we find these suspects … and we bring them to justice."
Officials said they did not know yet how many more officers would be deployed. That came as disappointing news to Ronald Barry, 36, who said he heard the shooting from his Girard Avenue apartment.
Barry said he immediately forced his two children and two visiting nephews to lie on the floor and then called 911. He ran out to find the gunshot victim bleeding profusely from his forehead and lying unconscious in the street, with one of the women screaming.
"There was no need to shoot the guy," said Barry, who was still shaken Sunday afternoon. He said he grew up in the neighborhood and had never witnessed such an act of violence. He said he had not slept since the incident. The robbers "obviously got what they wanted."
Arneson encouraged residents and visitors in the Uptown area to take precautions at night, such as walking in groups, carrying a cell phone, parking in ramps or lighted areas and staying alert.
Girard Avenue resident Justin Ellis, 22, said he fended off an early-morning mugger last August and wished police would step up patrols.
"You've got college kids walking around here drunk," Ellis said. "It's a prime target area."
Frederick Melo can be reached at
[email protected] or 651-228-2172.
