Story perspectives

More Than 100 Shots Fired on Harriet Avenue

By Drooid · Oct 10, 2026, 3:11 AM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said more than 100 rounds were fired on Harriet Avenue, injuring a minor.
Hodges described the shooters as Somali-American youths from comfortable families, not typical drug-driven gang members.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher warned about roughly 300 Somali gang members.
He urged a regional task force to address the threat.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said recent gun permits for 18-year-olds may fuel the shootings.

History

Historical Context

In 1995, the United Nations-backed Operation Restore Hope concluded, prompting Minnesota’s Department of Human Services to resettle roughly 5,000 Somali refugees in Minneapolis. The influx spurred the city’s first Somali community center, funded with $2 million from the State of Minnesota, and led to the formation of the Somali American Association in 1997. Today, Bloomington police confront gunfire from Somali-American youths, echoing the early-2000s rise in gang activity that officials traced back to the same resettlement wave. The pattern urges regional task forces, like the 2023 Minnesota Joint Terrorism Task Force, to balance integration support with targeted law-enforcement strategies.

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Story summary

Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said more than 100 rounds were fired on Harriet Avenue, injuring a minor.
Hodges described the shooters as Somali-American youths from comfortable families, not typical drug-driven gang members.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher warned about roughly 300 Somali gang members.
He urged a regional task force to address the threat.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said recent gun permits for 18-year-olds may fuel the shootings.

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