Word On The Street - Uptown Anarchy

Take it for what it's worth, but I'm elevating this Rambix reader's comment to a post, because everyone should see this. From "the Watcher":

Here's a couple things for you.
1) A woman was robbed of her purse and punched in the face at least once on 3/5/06. It happened in Uptown at 2pm, on the Mall behind the Walker Library. Suspects are two black males, probably 15-18 years of age (I know this because I saw them run by my window. I gave chase on foot but they had a 30-second head start so I couldn't catch up to them).No arrests were made that day, according to an officer at the 5th Precinct.
2) Last night, there was at least one (and possibly as many as 6) armed robberies in the Cleveland neighborhood. Suspect(s) in a red vehicle pulled up to pedestrians, flashed a gun, and took valuables.
I got this info from a co-worker who is reliable and of sound mind, who happens to live in the neighborhood.

To sum it up, this city is going to s**t and I'm fed the f**k up.
We need more cops and I need to get a gun.
The Watcher 03.08.06 - 4:02 pm

I have no way of verifying the veracity of these accounts, but I also have no reason to doubt that they're true.

Uptown has been the crucible of violence in Minneapolis, and, in fact, was the venue for the (Somali) robberies that became the genesis for this blog. Uptown Minneapolis is a lively, busy area, and because of that probably attracts more than it's share of crime, but the violence in Uptown is disproportionate even given those considerations. The above first person account gives us an inside view you won't see in the Red Star.

What are you doing about this, Mayor Rybak, aside from renewing the Chief under whose watch all this has festered?

P.S. If anyone has a news source on the Cleveland neighborhood armed robberies, please let me know.