(Updated April 3, 2021)
A carjacking in Minneapolis recently (among several that day) played out like a scene from a dramatic crime movie. In this case, a 7-year-old boy was in the backseat of the stolen vehicle. Amazingly, the child had the wherewithal to use his cell phone to get himself rescued.
I happened to be inside the building the suspect fled into as the story unfolded. Here’s how the drama played out on Twitter:
The dramatic Twitter thread continued:
- This is a rental vehicle. Last seen heading down 5th toward 10th or Plymouth. Notifying 4th Precinct (north)
- Child is on the phone with his father (child has a cell phone) and child is out of the vehicle. Police going to look for the child. 17:41
- They’re trying to get the child to call 911 and they can track the location of the phone. 17:44
- Child is describing what he’s seeing to the father: skyway and tall buildings around him.
- Child is age 7.
- A tow truck driver may have seen the child get dropped off near 7th St and 2nd Ave S.
- An officer is out with the child, located. 17:45
(Yay!)
- The stolen vehicle is also at the location, unoccupied. Requesting K9 to track the suspect.
- Suspect entered 730 building (2nd St):
- BM 6’5′, thin build, black pants, black jacket. According to tow truck driver.
- **2nd Ave S
(At this moment, those of us following the updates on our cell phones realized the suspect had just fled into the building we were in. We knew the skyway system was still open and figured he disappeared into that. I needed to leave, and as I rode the elevator down to the underground tunnel system, I held my breath—hoping it wouldn’t stop on any floors. I knew there was a chance I’d encounter the suspect face to face. Once in the tunnel system, I listened for footsteps around corners, glanced over my shoulder, and walked quickly through. I thought about how much fear that little boy must’ve experienced during his brief abduction.)
The thread continued:
- Suspect was wearing a blue surgical mask at the time of the theft and when the tow truck driver saw him.
- Suspect approx 26 yrs old, also wearing black hat, yellow and beige gloves, black boots, surgical mask.
(Will he be shown leniency from the court for wearing a mask?)
Twitter followers concerned about the child in the Minneapolis carjacking chimed in:
Originally tweeted by CrimeWatchMpls (@CrimeWatchMpls) on December 29, 2020.
A carjacking involving a child barely makes the news in Minneapolis:
Carjackings are so common now in Minneapolis they’re hardly considered news. The Star-Tribune reported that carjackings were up 537% in November. Local NBC affiliate KARE11 had the only news coverage of this particular incident, with this brief report:
7-year-old safe after being stolen with SUV in Minneapolis. Police say a suspect drove the vehicle about two blocks before letting the boy out in the North Loop. According to Minneapolis police, the vehicle was stolen at a Holiday gas station near Target Field around 5:30 p.m. Police say the suspect drove the vehicle about two blocks before letting the boy out.
COVID epidemic vs. Crime epidemic:
Remember at the beginning of the pandemic when none of us knew anyone who’d caught COVID? Then, a short time later, we all knew somebody who had caught it. Now, most of us know several people who’ve caught it.
Likewise, with the crime epidemic: Before the riots and defund the police movement began, it seemed rare for people in Minneapolis to know someone personally who was a victim of crime. Now it seems rare for people in that city to not know someone who was a victim of crime, often violent.
When COVID started, leaders told us to help flatten the curve. They demanded we shut down businesses, comply with mandates, and mask up. In response, the virus grew exponentially. Now we hear similar advice about the crime epidemic. City leaders say we should defund the police, comply with criminals, and put up plywood. And crime grows exponentially.
In response, we see an increase in law-abiding citizens enacting their own justice. This fed-up crime victim did so with no regrets:
Originally tweeted by CrimeWatchMpls on Jan. 3, 2021
When a critical mass of society perceives criminals as victims and police as criminals, social norms are inverted, and lawlessness spreads like a virus. Minneapolis is becoming Gotham City.
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