Federal, state and local authorities hear from community members about gun violence in Edina
It was a line out the door to get inside the packed house at Edina City Hall Monday night, as not only city, but state, county and federal authorities gathered, saying they need to work together to solve a metro-wide problem.
The meeting comes after two instances of gun violence in Edina in recent months that remain unsolved.
"We will not tolerate gun violence in our community," said Edina Mayor Jim Hovland.
Concern has grown following a shooting at Our Lady of Grace Church in Edina last month, when a group of teenagers was shot at while playing basketball. Edina Police Chief Todd Milburn said police recovered 55 spent cartridge casings from the scene.
Two months before that, gunfire erupted at Yancey Park and a home nearby was struck by gunfire. No one was injured in either incident and no arrests have been made.
Dorinda Johnson, an Edina school bus driver, spoke about the impacts this has had on children.
"To be honest, a lot of them are really scared and I don't blame them," said Johnson.
Since the shootings, police say they have increased their presence in parks and strengthened engagement with Somali community leaders.
Milburn said the department has also joined the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension's Violent Crime Reduction Unit, giving Edina access to a full-time investigator and roughly 30 additional detectives to assist with this case.
"Residents see a ton of energy devoted to proclamations, while we sit here discussing yet another Somali shooting," said Edina resident Jared Scribner. "We don't need more virtue signaling, yard signs, DEI initiatives or community conversations that lead to nowhere."
Others pushed back against calling out Somalis.
"Gun violence is not a race issue. It's not an ethnicity issue. It's a disparity issue," community organizer Amal Ibrahim said.
Farhina Budul, a Minneapolis resident, urged officials to ensure Somali community members are involved in crafting solutions before problems arise.
"As some of you think about solutions to gun violence, how are you making sure Somali community members, especially young people and families themselves, are helping to shape those solutions rather than being only brought in after something happens?" Budul said.
Milburn said police are not ruling out whether a shooting along Highway 100 in St. Louis Park, Minnesota, late last month could be connected to the violence seen in the city. In that instance, authorities said investigators believe people in several vehicles exchanged gunfire. One person was shot and is expected to recover. No arrests have been announced in the case.
