Minneapolis police respond to 4 weekend calls for fireworks being thrown at people, buildings
UPDATE 12:30 p.m. 10/31/22: Minneapolis police say they have identified a fourth incident involving fireworks from this past weekend.
Although all cases appear similar, it has not yet been confirmed whether they are linked.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS is working to gain more information about the fourth incident. All police have provided at this time is that at least one additional person was injured.
Check back for updates.
UPDATE 7 a.m. 10/31/22: Minneapolis police responded to three different calls involving fireworks overnight Saturday into Sunday, although the department doesn’t know if all three incidents are related.
Police say the latest report involving fireworks happened around 2:45 a.m. Sunday, when officers were told a group was banging on windows and shooting firecrackers at people on the 1200 block of Fourth Street Southeast.
When officers arrived, there was a “sizeable crowd” that dispersed. However, police did not note any property damage or injuries.
Police say officers responded to two similar calls earlier in the night, the first just before midnight on the 1600 block of University Avenue Southeast and the second just after 1 a.m. on the 1200 block of Seventh Street Southeast.
The first report was for a group gathered and fireworks being thrown at buildings, but police didn’t find anything. The second report was for a “group of males” throwing fireworks at people, and police found one man with apparent non-life-threatening injuries who refused medical care.
The University of Minnesota did not provide any statement beyond the initial safety alerts, which are described below in the earlier version of this story.
INITIAL REPORT 10/30/22: The University of Minnesota issued a SAFE-U notification early Sunday morning after two people were hit by fireworks within an hour span near the Twin Cities campus.
The alert, which came in just before 2 a.m., says one assault happened at the intersection of Southeast 16th and University avenues, while the other happened at Southeast 12th Avenue and Fifth Street.
The alert did not include information about the two victims or their possible injuries.
U of M Public Safety tells community members to “be cautious,” saying the suspects were a group of people wearing black hoodies and masks. The type of mask was not provided.
5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has reached out to authorities for more information. Check back for updates.
Click here for more SAFE-U alerts.