Police: Less trouble in Dinkytown this weekend amid increased police patrols

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - As students near the University of Minnesota begin to embrace summer break, they say over the last three weeks there hasn’t been a break in weekend crime.

"[I talked to a police officer], they said there’s been a lot of stuff going down right on the street, and it’s been a lot of people who aren’t from here. Juveniles coming here wearing masks and robbing people on these back streets," student Jack Anderson told FOX 9. "There’s always a lot of shady stuff going on around here."

MPD stationed additional patrols around Dinkytown to deter crime this weekend. But unfortunately, the trouble continued, "When I was falling asleep on = Friday or Saturday, we heard what we thought were gunshots, but we weren’t positive," student Megan Hjermstad said.

Witnesses estimate more than a hundred teenagers gathered to cause trouble near 13th and 4th Avenues, "It’s crazy, by now I thought there would be an end to this," student Ryan Swanson finished. "It’s been going on since probably finals week."

Last weekend, police said there were reports of 50 to 100 teens gathering in Dinkytown, leading to trouble including fights and roads being blocked.

This weekend, police say there was significantly less trouble.

"Overall, while there were reports of groups gathering throughout Friday and Saturday nights, there were few reports of criminal activity or property damage," a statement from the Minneapolis Police Department reads. "The partnership between MPD, the Minneapolis Department of Neighborhood Safety, and U of M PD ensured that disruptive group activity was reduced or quickly dispersed."