Somali leaders respond to Sheriff Fletcher's gang warning: 'Talk with us, not about us'
Somali leaders on Sheriff Fletcher's gang warning
Somali American community leaders held a press conference to respond to comments made by Sheriff Bob Fletcher
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Somali community leaders responded Tuesday to concerns raised by Sheriff Bob Fletcher about violence connected to Somali gangs.
Somali leaders respond to Fletcher remarks
What we know:
Somali leaders held a news conference on Tuesday morning to address Fletcher's statements.
Somali leaders said they were concerned that Fletcher's warnings were too broad and painted the community with a broad brush. The community leaders took issue with the fact that the sheriff went to YouTube to deal with the situation rather than dealing with community leaders directly.
"Our parents have been having those conversations around the dinner table for years, and our nonprofit organizations have been mentoring young people long before anyone decided to livestream the issue," said Suleiman Adan with CAIR Minnesota.
"The sheriff didn't choose to talk to the community. He go out on YouTube and talk like somebody who's a social media personality," added Ali Gaashaan.
It's worth noting, the sheriff has planned a community meeting for July 21 to discuss the gang violence issue. He also discussed his desire to work with community leaders to address the issue.
What they're saying:
"Sheriff Fletcher has said that he wants to work with the community. We welcome that. We have always welcomed that. But meaningful partnership begins by sitting down with people who know this community's community best, not by discussing them on a YouTube livestream," said Imam Yusuf Abdulle. "Leadership is not speaking about people. Leadership is speaking with people."
Others felt the livestream needlessly stigmatized the Somali community, as every community has its problems with gangs.
"He's emphasizing that Somali word, there's gangs in Minnesota, they belong to every other community," said Gaashaan. "And as a sheriff he has a role to play that. So my message today to the sheriff and to the community is we need to tone down the language of condemnation."
Concerns over Somali gangs in Twin Cities
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher is publicly calling out the presence of Somali gangs in the Twin Cities, saying his department will need to do more to curb violence. FOX 9’s Karen Scullin has the details.
Sheriff Fletcher's warning about Somali gang violence
Local perspective:
On his "Live on Patrol" YouTube channel, Sheriff Bob Fletcher called for action on Somali gangs.
The comments followed violence over the July 4 weekend. In Minneapolis, a Willmar soccer coach was killed in a shooting that was linked to Somali gang violence. Fletcher also pointed to an unruly gathering in Arden Hills that reportedly involved about 300 Somali youths, including some gangs.
The sheriff also raised concerns about social media feuds driving the violence, like a shooting outside the St. Paul RiverCentre in May. Fletcher said that was connected to online feuding and criminal complaints also show that stemmed from gang violence.
What did the sheriff say?
Big picture view:
Deputies warned there were at least 12 Somali gangs operating in Minnesota, which even had connections to outfits in Ohio.
The sheriff said numerous acts of violence had been connected to the gangs, including 14 homicides and more than 100 shootings over the past year. Unlike most gangs, deputies said most Somali gangs aren't involved in criminal enterprises like drug dealing. Instead, the violence seemed to be mostly connected to feuds and beefs.
The sheriff pointed to a pathway to success, like what worked with the Hmong community after issues with gang violence. The sheriff explained remaining silent on past problems with gang violence usually meant it took a flashpoint incident – like an act of violence that shocked the community – for real action to be taken on gang violence.
"You can't adopt a strategy to fix the problem until you agree there is a problem," said the sheriff. "In the Hmong community it was a different strategy, after two years of watching problems erupt [in the 90s] and gun store burglaries, et cetera… that was the beginning of working with Hmong leadership to address the problem."
The sheriff also said he planned to hold a community meeting on July 21 at 6 p.m. at the Arden Hills station (1411 Paul Kirkwold Dr.) to give community members a chance to discuss the situation.