Authorities warn “showboating” is driving the recent surge of Somali youth gang violence in urban Minnesota.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher said in a livestream that several shootings over the 4th of July weekend were linked to Somali youth gangs, Fox 9 Minneapolis reported Tuesday. This comes amid a spike in Somali gang violence in the Minneapolis metro area over the years.
“This last weekend, we were at Juice Time in Arden Hills. There were 300 Somali kids there and some of them were gangsters,” Fletcher said, according to the outlet. “We had a number of us law enforcement officers there that curtailed their activity, but two hours later, they were shooting someone in northeast Minneapolis, same group.”
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office (RCSO) did not respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
Authorities noted that Somali youth gangs began emerging in 2022, and that social media clout has motivated them, according to Fox. They estimate that there are 12 such gangs throughout Minneapolis, St. Paul, St. Cloud, Apple Valley, and Burnsville.
“It’s from what I’ve seen is that right now. It’s all about showboating. It’s all about ego for 99% of it. They aren’t selling narcotics. It’s all about just gloating,” RCSO investigator Benjamin Seidl said according to Fox 9 Minneapolis.
Fletcher estimated during the livestream that there were “14 Somali homicides, 100-plus Somali [gang-related] shootings” within the last two years, CBS News reported Tuesday.
Democratic Minneapolis City Council vice president Jamal Osman was disappointed in Fletcher’s comments, according to CBS.
“Somali youth deserve investment, dignity, opportunity, and respect – not public officials using their platform to stereotype them,” Osman, who is a Somali immigrant himself, said per the outlet.
Minnesota’s Somali population is nearly 80,000, with approximately 78% living in Minneapolis and St. Paul, according to Minnesota Compass. The Somali immigrant population rose approximately 14% from 2020-2024, according to Center for Immigration Studies data.
(DCNF)