Cedar-Riverside residents press police on gun violence
The death of a 17-year-old on a day when several others were injured by gunfire has galvanized residents of the Cedar-Riverside neighborhood in Minneapolis. Dozens filled a conference room to tell top police officials of their concerns Wednesday.
Those who knew Abdiwasa Farah say he was a good student and a talented athlete. Known as Wasa, he played for the Cedar-Riverside Warriors, a traveling basketball team.
One of his coaches, Mustafa Mohamed, described a road trip to a tournament in Las Vegas last summer. It was the first time either of them had seen the Rocky Mountains.
"He was an amazing human being. He was a humble kid. Always smiling, laughing," Mohamed said. "I was with him for a 16-hour car ride and it was the most amazing car ride ever because he was making me laugh half the time."
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He said Wasa had a 3.7 grade point average and had just started a new job.
Minneapolis police have not announced any arrests.
Jennifer Weber, who also coaches the team, said hearing the news that Wasa had been fatally shot outside a Cedar Avenue restaurant Friday was devastating. She said he was not a gang member, and expressed the frustration of many in the neighborhood, who say police aren't doing enough to stem violent crime.
"I'm angry and I'm tired of listening to people say you're going to bring us resources and you bring us nothing," Weber said.
Others in the room said investigators sometimes don't follow up when witnesses come forward with evidence that could put perpetrators in jail. Lt. Richard Zimmerman, head of Minneapolis police's homicide division, said police take tips seriously.
"When we get information from someone and we follow up on that information, we can't tell that person what we learned," he said. "I can tell you that we're following up on the information that we get. And so we just have to ask you to continue to give us that information."
Police Chief Medaria Arradondo said violence among Somali-American youth presents a particular challenge for officers more familiar with north side gangs.
"When an African-American gang decides to set out and shoot, the amount of time that elapses before the next retaliatory shooting, it's much longer. What we're seeing with our Somali group violence, it's quick. And if we don't get on it, I'm talking about within the hour, we're going to have another shooting," the chief said.
Arradondo praised the recent grassroots efforts of Somali-American mothers who are speaking out against the violence. He acknowledged that resources are limited, but promised to do everything possible to stop the killings.
"You need to hold me accountable," he said.