MINNEAPOLIS— Six children have been arrested after a chase and crash in Minneapolis.
None of the kids are even old enough to get a driver’s license, let alone a driver’s license.
Police said the children were in stolen vehicles linked to armed robberies in the city on Tuesday.
Officers chased one of the vehicles until it crashed on westbound Interstate 94 near Cedar Avenue. Four children fled the car and were arrested, police said. One of the children ran along I-94 in Minneapolis, narrowly avoiding oncoming traffic.
A second car crashed nearby but was not part of the chase, police said. Two children from that car were arrested.
The children were all 14 years old or younger – three boys aged 11, 12 and 13 and three girls aged 14, 14 and 12. The 12-year-old boy had “multiple prior interactions with MPD,” police said.
“The fact that I see this activity continuing with children so young – despite all our efforts – is incredibly frustrating and underscores the urgent need for action,” said Police Chief Brian O’Hara.
This is the second time in a week that O’Hara has called for more to be done about youth crime in Minneapolis. Friday, the Hennepin County Prosecutor’s Office has filed a report against a 10-year-old boy According to police, he drove a stolen car near a schoolyard, causing children and staff to panic.
“It is unfathomable that a 10-year-old boy would be involved in this level of criminal activity without effective intervention,” said Police Chief Brian O’Hara. “Prison is not an acceptable option for a ten-year-old boy. But the adults who can stop this behavior in the future must act now to help this child and his family.”
The law firm said there is “an urgent crisis in our community related to a small group of children who are not competent to stand trial in the juvenile justice system but who cannot be safely at home.”
Both prosecutors and police emphasized the need for residential placement for young offenders and said something must be done quickly.
“It’s literally a matter of life and death when we’re talking about what’s going on with these young children,” O’Hara said of the case.
WCCO personnel
