7 hospitalized after July Fourth shooting at Boom Island Park
MINNEAPOLIS -- Seven people are hospitalized after a shooting during Fourth of July celebrations in northeast Minneapolis Monday night.
Minneapolis Park Police said officers responded to a shooting at Boom Island Park around 11:30 p.m. Several of the victims are in critical condition. Police earlier reported that there had been eight victims, but on Tuesday night said that one was believed to have been involved in a separate incident, but arrived at the hospital at the same time as the other victims.
In all, two 17-year-old boys were treated and released, a 17-year-old girl admitted for treatment, two 18-year-old men and an 18-year-old woman are all listed in serious condition, and a 22-year-old man has also been admitted for treatment.
Police said no arrests have been made.
Witnesses said they were taking in fireworks for the Fourth of July at Boom Island Park when things turned chaotic.
The area was soon crowded with a lot of police officers stringing crime tape and the ground littered with evidence markers.
A witness at the scene told WCCO they heard what sounded like several gunshots.
"We were just watching fireworks and we just heard a whole bunch of shots," said Kaayla Laanaee. "I just heard them going over my head to the trees. I was just ducking by the lake."
Just across the river a few hours later, people were still setting off fireworks in the streets near the intersection of Washington and Portland avenues.
Chris Chambliss said he started calling the police at about 10:30 p.m. and captured video on his cellphone of the chaos as he waited for them to arrive, which he said took hours.
"At times there had to have been more than 100 teenagers out here and they were speeding up and down the streets in their cars hanging out of their sunroofs and throwing mortars," said Chambliss. "People running, I mean you'd hear them screaming and all of a sudden a whole group would be running up the sidewalk and a mortar would blow up right behind them."
Eventually, squad cars raced to the scene with lights and sirens blaring. Officers then worked to disperse a crowd in the area.
"There's a kid up here and he'll get pepper sprayed and he actually jumps and climbs over that car," Chambliss said, describing what he saw in the video he captured.
An area business owner also told WCCO the force from the fireworks was so strong it set off her security alarms. Luckily no damage was done to the business.
WCCO has reached out to police to see if anyone was hurt or arrested in the incident near Washington and Portland avenues. This story will be updated when more information becomes available.
