Four teenagers are facing multiple charges following a high-speed chase in south Minneapolis last Thursday involving a stolen vehicle and several firearms.
According to criminal complaints filed in Hennepin County, police were alerted to a white Jeep driving through south Minneapolis with its occupants pointing guns at bystanders. Around 4 p.m., detectives with the Hennepin County Violent Offender Task Force located the Jeep near Lyndale Avenue South and Lake Street.
When the driver spotted a marked Minneapolis squad car, he sped away into oncoming traffic, reaching speeds of 70 to 90 mph, according to the charges. The Jeep ignored stop signs and red lights, continuing south on Lyndale Avenue while making multiple erratic turns.
As officers pursued, one of the passengers threw a gun out of the window near Aldrich Avenue and Lake Street. Moments later, the driver jumped out of the moving Jeep, and a passenger from the back seat slid into the driver’s seat and continued driving. The suspect then hit the original driver, who rolled off the hood as the Jeep ran over his leg, the complaint states.
After driving another block, all remaining occupants fled the vehicle. One suspect escaped on an e-bike, while officers arrested four others nearby. One teen was found hiding on a front porch, and three others were discovered in the lower unit of an apartment, hiding in a shower and closet. Detectives entered the unit after announcing their presence and forcing entry.
Officers later recovered five loaded firearms, including three in the Jeep and two on Aldrich Avenue—all equipped with extended magazines or switches. Investigators determined that the Jeep had been stolen from Maple Grove earlier that morning, and one suspect’s cell phone data placed him in the area at the time of the theft.
The suspects, aged 18 to 19, face more than a dozen charges combined, including fleeing a peace officer, second-degree assault, criminal vehicular operation, receiving stolen property, and unlawful possession of a firearm.
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