Police host information meeting after firearms incident near Minneapolis school

In an effort to put a community’s minds at ease, police discussed the safety of a Minneapolis neighborhood after a car loaded with firearms was spotted near a school.

The community meeting was a full house Wednesday night, made up mostly of concerned parents who have students at nearby Clara Barton Elementary School and residents of the neighborhood.

Police shared as much as they could, but some people at the meeting say they still feel uneasy.

Seats were hard to come by at the meeting, with everyone packed in to hear more about the unsettling incident earlier in the month.

“MPD officers were dispatched to a report of a suspicious vehicle in the 900 block of 42nd Street West,” said Sgt. Darcy Horn, of the Minneapolis Police Department.

That call came in Aug. 2 near Bryant Avenue South near an elementary school.

Minneapolis Police told the group they spoke to a man in a black BMW and saw firearms inside.

“Ultimately, the officers retained the firearms and put them in the property and evidence room,” Horn said.

No arrests were made, but witnesses describe what they saw taken from the man’s car.

“One of the police officers’ visuals, from where I was sitting, pulled out a handgun and two assault rifles, put them in her squad car,” said Tricia Silpala, a witness.

Word spread of the incident over social media and concern over exactly what happened led to Wednesday’s meeting.  

The crowd, including parents with children in the nearby elementary school, sought more answers.

“It was scary to see that so close to home and so close to our community, so it kinda hit home and had me concerned,” said Michael Irei, another parent.

Police said the man had no apparent connection to the neighborhood or school, and while they couldn’t comment on why he had been sitting in his car with guns, the inspector of the precinct explained why officers took his weapons, which appeared to be obtained lawfully.

“They served him with the notice there was this pending order for protection relating to a domestic relationship,” Horn said.

The principal of Clara Barton said, even though this incident didn’t impact the school at all, they are still going to be increasing safety by locking all school doors.

Police told FOX 9 the man with the firearms taken from him will have to pass a firearms background check before the guns will be given back to him.