Six children, ages 11-14, were arrested on Tuesday after three armed robberies and two crashes on Interstate 94, the Minneapolis Police Department said.
What happened
Around 11:30 a.m. Tuesday, police responded to a robbery at gunpoint on the 5100 block of 41st Avenue South. A short time later, police responded to a second robbery at gunpoint on the 3400 block of Bloomington Avenue.
During the second incident, shots were fired at the victim from one of the vehicles involved, police said. No one was hit by gunfire.
Then, a third robbery at gunpoint happened around 1:30 p.m. near 24th Street and Pleasant Avenue.
The similarities between the three robberies led police to activate their "crime pattern response protocol," police said in a press release. Law enforcement officers from multiple agencies, including Minneapolis, Hennepin County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota State Patrol, "began flooding the area" to look for the vehicles involved in the robberies.
Then, multiple 911 reports of vehicles driving recklessly in Minneapolis came in. Police located one of the vehicles and initiated a stop, but the driver fled, and police began pursuing the vehicle. The pursuit ended with a crash on westbound I-94 near Cedar Avenue.
The people in the vehicle fled on foot and police "quickly apprehended" four people, the release says.
A second stolen vehicle was nearby and also crashed, police said. Two people in that vehicle fled on foot and were apprehended. Police did not pursue the second vehicle, the press release notes.
Three other vehicles were involved in the crashes. No injuries were reported among the people in the other vehicles.
Who was arrested?
Six juveniles — three boys (ages 11, 12 and 13) and three girls (ages 12 and 14) — were arrested. They were transported to area hospitals to be evaluated for non-life-threatening from the crashes.
The suspects will be booked into the Juvenile Detention Center, police said.
Police noted the 12-year-old boy had "multiple prior contacts" with the Minneapolis Police Department, while the others had "no or limited prior contact" with police and will be "referred to juvenile diversion programs," the release said.
Police are still investigating each child's involvement in the three robberies and if they were involved in any other criminal activity.
What they're saying
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said: "Our Crime Pattern Response protocol continues to be an effective strategy to quickly locate and arrest those committing crimes of violence in Minneapolis. The fact that I see this activity continuing with children so young — despite all our efforts — is incredibly frustrating and highlights the urgent need for action. I am grateful for the immediate response of law enforcement in finding and arresting these juveniles before they could cause more harm to members than of our community or themselves."