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The following is Mayor Frey’s statement regarding the shooting that took place Monday night at an encampment on private property on Lake Street:
“Last night, multiple people were seriously injured at an encampment. My thoughts are with the victims and the Southside community.
We are grateful to our partners at the State who are willing to assist MPD’s efforts to address crime in the area, and we will be closing this landlord's private property encampment today, now that MPD has finished investigating the scene. If the landlord wants to sue us, we'll see him in court. It was his choice to prevent us from closing it twice before, and this won't be tolerated.
Equivocation on this issue is unconscionable. Whether you’re a private property owner or an elected official, the time for hedging is over.
We have years of evidence showing that encampments are unsafe. They don’t just endanger residents; they create conditions where some of our most vulnerable neighbors are exploited by drugs, violence, and trafficking. They regularly end with violence, fire, or tragedy. That is why we close them.
Making encampments more “permanent” is not harm reduction—it entrenches harm. Our obligation is to help people transition to safer, healthier alternatives.
The City’s Homeless Response team will continue to go out daily, offering shelter and resources. Our Mobile Medical Unit will continue to go out daily, providing health care and opioid resources. The Minneapolis Police Department will continue to respond to areas to ensure tents aren’t being set up. And we will continue to work with our partners at the County to connect people to housing.
After we offer those services, encampments must be closed. We cannot allow them to persist when violence, danger, and tragedy are the norm. More lives will be lost if we do.”
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