In a 24-hour span, nine people have been shot in Minneapolis, resulting in five fatalities, police say.

The outburst of deadly violence began late Tuesday night when five people were shot near an alley off East 25th Street and Bloomington Avenue in the Midtown Phillips area. Three of the victims, including a 17-year-old boy, died.

Early Wednesday afternoon, a man in his 30s was fatally shot just three blocks away from the mass shooting, near the intersection of Cedar and East Franklin avenues. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara says a stray bullet pierced a nearby SUV, just missing a toddler and infant inside.

About 90 minutes later, a man was shot off West 33rd Street and Harriet Avenue in the Lyndale neighborhood. Police say his injuries are non-life threatening.

And about 90 minutes after that, a man was shot inside a residence off North 29th Avenue and Girard Avenue North in the Jordan neighborhood. Police say "an altercation outside escalated to gunfire" in this case. A woman also suffered non-life threatening injuries, but it's unclear how.

Then at about 7:45 p.m., a man in his 50s was shot off 15th Avenue South and East Lake Street in the Powderhorn neighborhood, later dying from his injuries at Hennepin Healthcare.

Police believe southside victims, all Native Americans, were likely targeted

No arrests have been made yet in these shootings, with police noting all the victims who died in the Phillips Community section of the city's southside were all Native Americans, and all were likely targeted. They're still working to determine if the shootings are all connected.

Police announced late Thursday morning on social media that officers arrested a man and a juvenile late Wednesday night after they responded to reports of gunfire in the area of East 31st Street and Bloomington Avenue. Police say the vehicle they were in was scene fleeing the area at high speeds.

Officers "recovered an untraceable 'ghost gun' and a box of ammunition found in a cup holder," police say. It's unclear if the suspects are connected to any of the other shootings.

"The level of violence this city has experienced in less than 24 hours is infuriating"

This spat of violence follows what O'Hara describes as "a relative period of peace, the likes of which had not been seen in at least five years."

The city has now seen 13 homicides so far this year. While that's still lower than the three-year average of 22, O'Hara says that's still 13 too many.

"Violent incidents of this magnitude leave a deep impact, not only on the American Indian community, but on our officers, our investigators and our community as a whole," O'Hara said.

Police say Mayor Jacob Frey has directed their department and the Office of Community Safety to "deploy every available resource to bring the perpetrators to justice and support the community," and they're actively collaborating with several other agencies, including the FBI.

"The level of violence this city has experienced in less than 24 hours is infuriating. Each individual act causes immense grief and tears families apart," O'Hara said in a statement released Thursday.  

The city's Native community mourns

Police are ramping up patrols in the Phillips Community, while the Red Lake Nation of Chippewa Indians says its increasing security around the area of its embassy, apartments and wellness clinic.

"The Native community is strong as hell, and we're going to be working together to make sure that we get back on track, and we're going to make sure that we're doing all of the right things through partnership," Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said.

The Minneapolis American Indian Center postponed its open house and pow wow scheduled for Thursday afternoon. Instead, a prayer service was held at Cedar Avenue Field Park, co-organized by the Metropolitan Urban Indian Directors.

"Things are being canceled out of respect for our grieving community," said a spokesperson for the directors group. "We realize we mourn with the families that are grieving. There are many in the community who either are related to them, or worked with them or had them as students or patients or clients."

Chiffon Williams, a neighborhood resident WCCO spoke with at the prayer service, said she and her community are reeling from the violence. 

"Yesterday, there was more support," Williams said. "It's hard, you know. It's hard."  

Police say the Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office will release the names and exact causes of death of the homicide victims at a later date.