Verbal Argument Turns Deadly as Gunfire Erupts Near Minneapolis' George Floyd Square
A man was fatally shot Saturday near the intersection known as George Floyd Square in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Officers said the shooting occurred after an alleged verbal argument.
Police were called to the scene around 5:45 p.m. after witnesses called 911 and said that two people had been shot, according to the Star Tribune. When they arrived, the victim and the alleged assailant were both gone.
Later, officers were told that a man in his 30s was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died of injuries sustained from a gunshot. Despite the claims of two people being shot, police have not identified another victim.
“Investigators’ initial findings are that the victim and a suspect had a verbal disagreement and the suspect shot the victim before fleeing the area, heading north in a cream or light-colored Suburban with gunshot damage,” the Tribune said.
The incident comes as tensions rise in Minneapolis around the trial of former police officer Derek Chauvin. His trial began Monday for third-degree murder in the death of George Floyd.
After Floyd’s death in May 2020, violent riots broke out across the nation, including in Minneapolis. Officials have already begun to brace for more potential violence surrounding the trial.
Even as they report the fact that Minneapolis is being forced to roll out massive security efforts as the trial begins, the establishment media continues to argue that the reaction to Floyd’s death has been “mostly peaceful,” as they like to put it.
“Parts of east and north Minneapolis appear at times quiet and tense,” NBC News said. “Some businesses have boarded up or shut down.”
“Nearly a year of peaceful protests, riots and international outcry has led to this, a city on edge and on the cusp of what the mayor, Jacob Frey, calls ‘probably the most significant trial that our city has ever experienced.'”
The fact that they can report on businesses boarding up their windows because of potential violence and then say in the very next sentence that “peaceful protests” are the reason is absolutely astounding. For reference, here’s some footage of those “peaceful protests.”
There is no way to know what this latest argument was about or whether it was related to the trial. However, the shooting occurred in an area that has already been barricaded in anticipation of upcoming violence, which shows that tensions around the city are very high.
In addition, the city’s response to Floyd’s death has made it increasingly difficult to contain violent crimes such as this one.
The Minneapolis City Council voted to cut the city’s police department funding by $8 million in December 2020, according to a separate article from the Star Tribune.
“The additional funding for new public safety solutions will also allow the City to continue upscaling important mental health, non-police response, and social service components in our emergency response system,” Mayor Jacob Frey said.
It took less than two months for the city to realize that defunding the police is not a good way to deter crime. The Star Tribune reported that the same City Council who voted to slash the police department budget by $8 million in December 2020 approved a $6.4 million release to hire new recruits in February 2021.
“The unanimous vote came eight days after Minneapolis police requested the funding, saying they had 200 fewer police officers available to work than in most recent years,” the Tribune said.
Police added that in February, some 155 officers remained on forms of extended leave. As it turns out, officers may not have a desire to work for a city that wishes to vilify them.
The Tribune said that Minneapolis has experienced “a dramatic uptick in violent crime” since Floyd’s death and the ensuing response by both the City Council and residents. Judging by the city’s actions in advance of the Chauvin trial, that does not appear to be changing any time soon.
No matter what it was that led to a man’s death on Saturday, the fact is that we need police officers to help protect citizens from such violent crimes. As tensions rise in Minneapolis, that point rings more true than ever.
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