Justifiably Afraid

The good people of Minneapolis are under siege. Peaceful citizens far outnumber murderous thugs, yet the criminals have a particularly sadistic advantage: they have nothing to lose and don't fear consequences.

Fear the man who has nothing to lose.

The losers in this current (undeclared, but ongoing) crime emergency are the solid citizens of the Northside and other parts of Minneapolis.

The Red Star reports on some of the fallout of this weekend's bloodshed: "Two Minneapolis killings put neighbors on edge".

Sadeja Riley didn't sleep well Saturday night. She dreamed that she had been shot and was lying on a sidewalk. The nightmare was likely triggered by events that occurred outside her north Minneapolis home a few hours before she went to bed.

Riley, 15, was looking out of her bedroom window about 9:30 p.m. Saturday when she saw a male get shot in front of her house on the 3800 block of Lyndale Avenue N.
"We were scared. We cut the lights and the TV and my mom hit the floor," said Riley, who has lived on the block for three years. "This is the first time I've ever seen anybody get killed like this. It's shocking and a lot of kids saw this."

These kids are seeing a lot of things they shouldn't see. City leaders have let them down - a person can't even feel safe in his own home in Minneapolis.

Linda Hys, who lives on Lyndale about a block north of where the shooting occurred, heard the commotion. She said she wasn't surprised that a shooting took place so close to her home of 10 years. In recent months, she and other residents said there has been an increase in prostitution and drug dealing on the avenue. But the shooting has put her on edge and she wants to move.

"I don't drink, but I am today," said Hys. "I'm scared to death. I'm petrified. I don't feel safe. We need more cops on the streets."

Ms. Hys has a right to be scared.

Mayor Rybak: Is it yet time for severe measures in order to save what's left of your city?