Minneapolis sees 4 shootings in 5 hours, including teen shot on bus

Shortly before 9 p.m. Wednesday night, a Metro Transit bus became a crime scene when a 17-year-old was shot in the stomach near 34th Avenue North and Penn Avenue.

Metro Transit spokesperson Howie Padilla says with multiple cameras on every bus, the video footage clearly shows what happened.

“What I can tell you is individuals boarded the bus and immediately after they boarded the bus they confronted this other individual,” Padilla said. “The information we have right now these two knew each other. Not only did they know each other but from the information we have there was some history there.”

Five minutes later, Minneapolis police got a call from the 1400 block of 25th Avenue North about another teenage boy shot in the hand. It is not clear whether those two shootings are related.

A few hours earlier, a man was shot in the leg downtown and a woman was shot in the leg in south Minneapolis. All four shootings happened within five hours.

“When they say it’s a non-life threatening injury, I don’t care where you get shot shot in your leg [or] hand, that’ a lifelong injury,” says Minneapolis City Council President Barbara Johnson. “We tend to think thank goodness they are not dead, but it can alter your life.”

Johnson agrees those violent few hours reflect much bigger problems. She points out soon there will be bus rapid transit along Penn, but if people don’t feel safe riding it’s all for nothing. 

“We have a lot of people that are involved in really violent life styles,” Johnson said. “There is a lot of back and forth and people coming after each other, and not fearing the consequences and that’s really troubling.”