Minneapolis: Somali Gang Violence out of Control

[money]

Minneapolis: Somali Gang Violence out of Control

Labels: Minneapolis, Somalis

 

Tuesday September 30, 2008

 

Here in Minneapolis, today as we celebrate Eid with our families and friends, a Somali mother is in tears and in pain for the loss of her only son. He was 19. He came for a hair cut to get ready for the Eid festivities. Unfortunately, he didn’t make it. His life was cut short by a bullet probably from another Somali teenager. Just a week ago, a Somali family buried their 20 year old son, a third year college student, who was shot in front of community center where he was volunteering to tutor and mentor younger kids. Three months before that, in the same place of the community center, slain was a 31 year old youth mentor and basketball coach. Two months before that, 18 years old high school graduate was killed in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood. These brothers were killed by other brothers in what now can be only termed as an all-blown-out senseless gang violence within the Somali community.

 

 

So far one juvenile suspect, 16 years old, is held for the killing of the murdered college student. These were the ones killed so far in this year. Just by the end of last year, two other twenty-something youth were gunned down in South Minneapolis. There are few others who were injured who luckily didn’t die.

 

 

This morning, a Somali mother I talked to, who lives in the South Minneapolis neighborhood where the gang violence is concentrated, is worried for her two teenage boys and is now contemplating maybe sending the boys to relatives in Arizona. "I am scared to lose my boys" she confides me and continues that her boys hang around the neighborhoods and Somali shopping strips. "They could end being shot." She cries. She is not alone. Other parents have the same concerns.

 

 

Everywhere you go today and anyone you talk to, after the Eid congratulations exchange, the talk and the conversation is about these Somalis teenage boys shooting each other and what is going to happen next, who would be shot and when.

 

 

Somali teenage boys are going crazy and most have guns with them. Random shootings have became the only way they settle score.

 

 

They have formed their own gang families and promise more violence to come. The community in whole is in tense and suspense mood. People are worried that this would get out of control. The police are pleading with people who witnessed or know the perpetrators of these shootings to come forward and help them to bring the criminal murderers to justice.

 

 

No one seems to know how to prevent more shootings to happen. There are some who are trying to come up with solutions and among them is newly formed Somali college student organization called the Youth against Violence Committee.

 

 

The root causes of the Somali gang violence within the Twin Cities Somali community are hard to pinpoint and is complex to decipher. It is not isolated to Somalis in Minneapolis. Same thing is happening in other Somali Diaspora communities to lesser degrees compared to one in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Once a while, one hears or reads news about Somali teenage or young man gunned down in places like Seattle, Toronto and London, UK Other immigrant and refugee communities have either gone or going through this problem of gang violence.

 

Somali Community in the Twin Cities is now challenged more than ever to find ways to deal with this gang violence phenomenon. A whole community plan to deal and address this gang violence among Somali youth is needed. Somali parents, families, community leaders, college students all have to come together, stop the blame and escape-goat game and act. A concerted effort is needed from everyone, especially families and community activists to mentor these lost and violent kids so that we can prevent the senseless killing of our youngsters and the grieving of Somali mothers.

 

 

There are some known solutions to reduce the gang violence and make sure that more youngsters resist joining gang groups.

 

 

Somali parents should take more responsibility and stop complaining about the culture shock they face in America. They need to learn about raising kids who have different way of life and mindset. They also need to remember that it is not the teenage boys who choose to be here on the first place. The parents came here to run away from violence in Somalia and brought their boys with them to spare them from the violent Somali civil war. Having cultural and language barriers is no excuse of being involved in your kids life, of knowing who they hang with and of having family time and involvement.

 

 

Finally, the more the community as whole let this deadly Somali gang violence go on in our neighborhoods, community centers, shops, schools, the more things would get out of control and the more many of our younger kids would be shot.

 

Article originally posted on Royale Somalia From Royale Somalia

[Warrior of Light]

Inallilahi wainaillahi Rajiun. Its a pity that people who are trying to give back to our society are being targetted as well as the innocent by these holigans. Families should stop covetting their troubled sons and hand them over to the police. Enough.

 

May Allah ease the pain of the families struck by these tragedies. And give people the courage to do what's RIGHT. Amin

[General Duke]

Somali man slain at mall packed with shoppers

 

Carlos Gonzalez, Star Tribune

 

A crowd gathered in south Minneapolis after a man was shot and killed Monday night. His body was found outside the Village Market mall.

 

The young man was killed outside a mall that was packed with shoppers on the eve of a major religious holiday in the Somali Muslim community.

 

By LORA PABST, Star Tribune

 

Last update: September 30, 2008 - 6:20 AM

 

 

Print this story

E-mail this story

Save to del.icio.us

Share on newsvine

Share on Digg

Related Content

16-year-old arrested in slaying of Augsburg student

 

Graphic: Site of shooting

 

More from Local + Metro

Suspect in bridge shooting to get new lawyer

Man charged for sexually assaulting 15-year-old boy

Man charged in Robbinsdale New Year's killing

Spicer man grows new state record pumpkin

Mailmen might deliver meds in next anthrax attack

A young man was shot to death Monday night outside a mall in south Minneapolis that was packed with shoppers on the eve of a major religious holiday in the Somali Muslim community.

 

Police were called to the Village Market mall shortly before 9 p.m. and found the victim's body lying outside the mall. As the night wore on, officers taped off the scene and offered only sparse details.

 

Minneapolis police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said police were not yet releasing the man's identity or age. Police said that no one had been arrested and that they had no suspect information.

 

However, family members at the scene identified the victim as a 19-year-old Minneapolis man of Somali heritage who had gone to the mall to get his hair cut on the eve of Eid-al-Fitr, the festival of fast-breaking that ends the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

 

The mall, a former factory building whose merchants are largely Somali, was crowded with immigrants preparing for the holiday, and afterward about 100 people gathered peaceably in the area, anxiously seeking information about the shooting.

 

The Phillips neighborhood in which the mall is located is home to a large population of Somali and other immigrants.

 

Today is "supposed to be a festive day, and he's not going to be there," said Shukri Omar, who identified herself as a cousin of the victim. She said he was an only child, "a momma's boy."

 

"It's so sad to see our mothers crying every weekend," Omar said, referring to a recent spate of deadly shootings within the Somali community. She said that the violence has raised fears in the community and that many people are wondering what will happen next.

 

Lora Pabst • 612-673-4628

[General Duke]

6 Somali men shot to death since December

Abdishakur Adan Hassan, killed Monday as he went to the Village Market Mall in Minneapolis for a haircut, was the sixth Twin Cities Somali man slain since December.

By DAVID CHANEN, Star Tribune

 

Get more maps + statsHomicide mapRamsey County jail bookingsSchool test scoresBridge ratingsPublic employee salariesCampaign contributionsMinnesota company rankingsCEO pay packagesReal estate transactions

 

Homicide map: A comprehensive map of Minnesota homicides and links to crime stats, booking records and sex offender registrations.

 

The most recent victim was Abdishakur Adan Hassan, 21, of Minneapolis. On Monday, the eve of a major religious holiday in the Somali Muslim community, he went to get a haircut at a crowded mall in south Minneapolis. He was shot in the chest in a back parking lot of the Village Market Mall about 9 p.m.

 

"We are not just looking at this case, but more broadly at the violence in the Somali community to see if there are any connections or patterns," Capt. Amelia Huffman Tuesday.

 

It was too early to know why Hassan was killed, she said, but witnesses have come forward with information. Hassan had been kicked out the mall earlier in the day, police said, but it's unclear if that played a role in his death.

 

Hassan's death doesn't appear to be related to the shooting death of 20-year-old Augsburg College student Ahmednur Ali or a shooting in the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood this weekend. A 16-year-old has been arrested in Ali's death.

 

The increasing violence has parents scared and their children wondering who might be next, said Shukri Omar, Hassan's cousin.

 

"To be honest, I don't know what's going on with my people," she said. "We came to the United States because of the fighting in Somalia, to get a great education, to live a better life."

 

Police have been meeting with community members to enlist their help to hand out crime prevention information and identify problems before they get out of control, said Third Precinct police Inspector Lucy Gerold. There has been some lower level crime around the mall, but "it's not constantly on our radar as a source of problems," she said.

 

Hassan emigrated to the United States in 1997 and grew up in Minneapolis, graduating from Edison High School. His stepsister dropped him off at the mall, at 912 E. 24th St., but he was shot before she could find a parking spot, said Omar.

 

"I don't think he had a beef with anybody. Maybe somebody started something with him," she said.

 

In June, Hassan was charged with felony fourth-degree assault and misdemeanor obstructing arrest. He was cited for public drinking and was given a ride home by police officers. But he was upset that his car was going to be towed and he hit the squad car as it was driving away, the court document said.

 

Martin Mohammed, president of the African Chamber of Commerce in Minneapolis, didn't know Hassan. Some of the aggression coming from Somali immigrants might be rooted in the civil war and tribal conflicts, he said.

 

"For some reason we have lost the traditional way of solving problems through mediation and conflict resolution," he said. "I'm troubled that a community with a good reputation might be damaged because of the violence."

 

Other than the arrest in the Ali case, none of the other homicides has been solved. Omar said she is hopeful police will find her cousin's killer. Instead of celebrating Eid al-Fitr, the fast-breaking festival that ends the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, Hassan's family will plan a funeral.

 

"He was such a great guy. He liked to make jokes and make people laugh," Omar said.

 

David Chanen • 612-673-4465

[N.O.R.F]

Allah yarxamhum.

 

What is going on in MN?

[Oz]

Subxallah. In situations like this, who do you blame? Why are people in the community remaining silent? Names should be given, instead of hiding these criminals and shipping them back to Somalia.

[True2truth]

Originally posted by Oz:

who do you blame?

Somali men

[SayidSomal]

^^^

 

Would someone please give this woman a man, i nominate Mr Warmonger (aka Saqajaan)

[Aaliyyah]

I don't blame somali men, these men are the product of somali families. You cant disregard your families and let the society raise for you, and then complain. somalis need to go back and reevaluate how they are raising their kids. And, they are in need of instilling in their kids their religion and culture.

 

May this man and others rest in peace.

 

my prayers are with them and their families.

[True2truth]

^ Aliya, always optimistic! Keep it up and avoid somali men

 

 

Sayid,

 

If it hadn’t been for the Somali men’s idiotic civil war, would such tragedy occur? Or if it had been a good leading Somali fathers present in these young people’s lives, would such tragedy occur? Whichever way u look at it, you be sure to find a Somali men at fault! that is if we shred down all the excuses

[SayidSomal]

^^Do you want a Somali man or not? preferable Mr Warmonger (aka Saqajaan)

 

a simple yes or no will

[True2truth]

I really don’t think this is the right thread to make such jokes.

[Aaliyyah]

It is not about being optimistic, rather being realistic. When you see few men deviating from the right path, and who are screwing their lives. Then by all means blame them, bt when you see Somali community failing their youth in large numbers. Then you can't blame the result, rather the core of the problem which is somali parents and the way they raise their kids.

 

I really want the somali parents to come together whereever they are, and ask themselves where are we going wrong as mothers, fathers, parents, as community leaders and so on and so forth. And, that doesn't just apply to mn but somalis in the west.

 

that's my two cent.

[General Duke]

This is no joke issue. Those being killed are young men and they are being shot by kids. The young college freshman murder suspect is a 16 year old. Whats happening here is a confused and weak communities children are turning into copy cats of vicious street gangs

 

You have gangs taking root and the community is just watching. Anyhow the reaction from the wider community will be one that targets all of us.

[Kool_Kat]

Minneapolis Police have arrested a man in connection with the shooting death of Abdidhakur Adan Hassan, outside the Village Market Mall last month.

 

Hassan Mohamed Abdillahi, 21, was arrested Wednesday in the 1300 block of East 24th Street.

 

Officers received the report of a shooting in the 900 block of East 24th Street just before 9 p.m. on Sept. 29.

 

Hassan’s family said the 19-year-old had just started college, and had come home to Minneapolis from Canada to celebrate Ramadan. According to police, Hassan was on his way to get a haircut when he was gunned down.

 

Abdillahi is being held at the Hennepin County Jail pending formal charges.

link

 

:mad: :mad: