by Anthony Gockowski
A group of north Minneapolis residents said they feel like they live in a “war zone” in an open letter to Gov. Tim Walz this week.
“North Minneapolis, the most diverse part of the state, is a war zone, with a child murdered, a man killed when a barbershop was shot-up in broad daylight, a school teacher executed by fully automatic gunfire, a drive by shooting across an elementary school playground with children at recess, a bus evacuated after being shot at. All this in little more than a week,” says the letter.
The 26 residents feel like they have been “left to twist in the winds of violence” for more than a year while the mayor and City Council have failed to act.
“They have shown that they are either unwilling or unable to save us. The Minneapolis Police Department is spread too thin to help. Right now, we are left to fend for ourselves. We are not ‘One Minnesota’ when our children are left to be slaughtered,” they write.
The Minneapolis Police Department has an authorized strength of 888 but is down to 582 active officers, according to the latest numbers provided to Alpha News. This had made proactive policing essentially nonexistent as police run from one 911 call to the next.
The residents conclude their letter by pleading with the governor to save them “from this death march.” They want Walz to “send any and all available resources” to Minneapolis, “whether that be State Patrol or National Guard.”
Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott Jensen responded to the letter Thursday, questioning why the governor remains “on the sidelines.”
Minneapolis residents are calling it a warzone. If the city government won't do anything except push radical anti-police ballot measures, it's incumbent on the Governor to step in & protect lives!
We have resources statewide to keep the streets SAFE! Why remain on the sidelines?
— Scott Jensen (@drscottjensen) September 23, 2021
“They shouldn’t have to beg for protection. Shame on the city leaders who have allowed it to get this bad,” Rep. Pete Stauber added.
Seventy people have been killed in Minneapolis this year, including three children.
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Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and reported for The Daily Caller.
Photo “Minneapolis Police” by Minneapolis Police Department.
