More Robberies In Minneapolis 5th Precinct

The Minneapolis Police SAFE Unit has issued a Crime Alert following two robberies of person early this morning:

Tuesday, June 20, 2006 3:40 PM

Last night there were 2 robberies of person that occurred in our sector.

On 6-20-06 at about 1:30 am on the 3100 block of Pillsbury Av S a Robbery of Person Aggravated took place. A victim was assaulted by 3 male suspects with a knife. The 3 male suspects are described as all about 18 year old, black males, wearing white T-shirts and jeans.

On 6-20-06 at about 2:40 am on the 3000 block of Irving Av S a Robbery of Person Aggravated took place. A victim was walking in the alley when he was assaulted by 3 male suspects with a knife. Suspect 1 is described as a light skinned black male in his early 20’s about 6 feet tall, suspect 2 was described as about 5’9” tall, in his 20’s and clean shaven, suspect 3 was described as a dark skinned black male about 6’2” with a goatee and unshaven.

Some will argue, perhaps legitimately, that if you're out that late at night, you're asking for trouble. I would counter that by saying that while you're certainly increasing the odds of danger at those hours, why shouldn't a citizen be able to safely walk the streets whenever he feels like it? Who owns the streets, anyway?

The message in these assaults is that there are violent, armed predators roaming the streets of Minneapolis. They're out there whether you are or not, just waiting for an opportunity.

I'm not yet ready to concede the streets or alleys to punks and gangsters.