Minneapolis 5th Police Precinct issues crime alert after 19 carjackings in 3 weeks

The Minneapolis 5th Police Precinct has issued a crime alert, with a map detailing 19 carjackings since Oct. 14; most of them have occurred in the Uptown area.

The crime alert stated, "The increase in street robberies, including carjacking incidents, has been persistent and very troubling this year." The alert also said the perpetrators are generally teens or young adults and in some cases are wearing masks, making it difficult to identify them.

All of the crimes are listed as strong-armed robberies and about one-fourth of them involved a knife or gun but, so far, none have resulted in any serious injuries or deaths.

Police are urging people to pay close attention to their surroundings while going to and from their cars and, if possible, they encourage pairing up with others to help discourage any potential trouble.

According to police records, 12 of the carjacking and robbery victims have been women.

The 5th Precinct area runs from Interstate 35W on the east to the city limits on the west, and Interstate 94 on the north to the city limits on the south.