Minneapolis Police are dealing with a wave of unsettling crime, with more than half a dozen robberies and carjackings in recent days. 

MPD stated that on Sunday, six incidents occurred between 10:46 a.m. and 11:49 a.m., while another eight incidents took place between 8:25 p.m. and 9:24 p.m. Authorities said that the incidents included robbery, armed robbery, carjacking and armed carjacking.

Officials said groups of at least three to five juveniles would approach victims and demand personal belongings. It is believed that nine of the incidents involved the suspects threatening the victims with a handgun.

Losses reported by the victims included purses, cash, credit cards, IDs, cell phones and vehicles.

Just before 11 a.m. Sunday morning, thieves took the streets of the fifth precinct in south Minneapolis. Police say four robberies took place in less than 20 minutes; one of those robberies involved a deadly weapon. 

About a half hour later, there were reports of a carjacking in northeast Minneapolis. 15 minutes later, there was an armed robbery. 

Residents in northeast Minneapolis say they’re not surprised by the recent crimes.

“I’m just used to that; I feel like that’s been going on definitely for several years now since COVID,” said Alice Crozier. 

In response to the string of robberies, Minneapolis Police enacted its new robbery protocol, which diverts officers from non-emergency calls to the robbery scene until it’s over. 

“We did have to stop non-emergency response to 911 calls this morning for about 45 minutes,” said Police Chief Brian O’Hara. 

The protocol was implemented a second time on Sunday when another robbery spree ensued Sunday night. 

“In fact, one-fifth of the precinct police officers began pursuing the suspect vehicle that had just been involved in one of those robberies,” said O’Hara. 

At around 9:25 p.m., a police officer saw a carjacked black Mazda CX5 that was used in several of the robberies cross the Lowry Bridge at a high rate of speed. Officials state that the black Mazda was followed by a gray Mazda CX5 which had been carjacked minutes before.

Officers pursued the black Mazda to the 1700 block of Newton Avenue North and after a short foot chase, police arrested a 17-year-old hiding underneath a vehicle. A handgun was recovered from the scene.

Meanwhile, the gray Mazda crashed into a parked Tesla on Sheridan Avenue North and West Farwell Avenue and rolled over. Two juveniles, ages 17 and 14, were brought to HCMC with non-life-threatening injuries.

The three juveniles were all booked into Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center. Authorities believe two suspects are still at large.

The Minnesota State Patrol, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and Metro Transit police also assisted in the arrests.

“It appears that, you know our officer’s response worked. They were able to put an end to the spree tonight, make arrests,” O’Hara said. 

O’Hara says the suspects arrested Sunday evening appear to be the same groups of juveniles involved in the robberies Sunday morning.