South Minneapolis residents rattled by encampment violence

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - A day after three shootings near homeless encampments in south Minneapolis left two men dead, residents in the area are fed up.

Background

The spate of shootings, which happened in the Third Precinct, started early Wednesday morning and continued until about 7 o’clock that night. The first shooting, near 17th Avenue South and East 26th Street, left a man dead and sent another to the hospital.

Less than 12 hours later, another shooting, also near an encampment near Bloomington Avenue and East 25th Street, left a man dead. A third shooting a couple of hours later, along 17th Avenue South, injured a man. 

Residents talk

"We scared our family, we scared our neighborhood, we scared my kids," said Ismail Hussain, who lives near one of the encampments.

Hussain, who has lived in the neighborhood for 15 years, spent hundreds of dollars to outfit the exterior of his house with seven surveillance cameras. 

But the cameras haven’t deterred crime. On Sept. 1, thieves smashed his car window and stole the vehicle. 

"They make the hoodie and mask," he said. "So, they broke the window, going inside, and in five minutes they took the car."

In 2024, 19% of all gun violence in the Third Precinct happened within 500 feet of an encampment, according to police. During that same time frame, 13% of violent crime citywide happened within a block of an encampment, police said.