Boy, 3, Struck by Gunfire in North Minneapolis, Rushed to Hospital in Squad Car
Minneapolis Police Department vehicles at the scene of a shooting on the 3300 block of Emerson Ave. N. after a child was struck by gunfire July 9, 2021. PHOTO BY MN CRIME.
A three-year-old boy and an adult male believed to be in his 30s were both struck by gunfire during a shootout around 9:45 p.m. on the 3300 block of Emerson Ave. N. Friday. The boy was rushed to the hospital with a broken femur and the man transported by ambulance with a gunshot to the shoulder. Both are expected to survive.
In initial dispatch audio, officers can be heard requesting two ambulance rigs to the scene shortly after they arrived. Hearing the first ambulance was still far away, officers decided to transport the boy directly to the hospital in a squad car due to the severity of his injuries.
ShotSpotter—the technology used to track gunshots in the city—recorded three different activations in the area at the time, including 15 rounds fired on the 3300 block of Emerson. The gunfire was also captured on a nearby Ring camera, with audible screaming heard after the initial burst of gunshots.
Three other children have been struck by gunfire on the north side of Minneapolis so far this year. Two of them later died of their injuries and the other continues a long recovery.