Edina residents pack City Hall, demand answers on Yancey Park and church shootings
Roughly 200 Edina residents packed City Hall on Monday, Oct. 5 to demand answers about shootings at Yancey Park and Our Lady of Grace church.[1]
Edina Police Chief Todd Milburn called the shootings "shocking" and urged residents to "activate and help us out," while Mayor Jim Hovland urged community cohesion and pushed for prosecutions.[2] Police said both the Yancey Park and church incidents involved Somali teenagers or young adults as victims or suspected shooters.[3] They said they have boosted patrols, placed mobile cameras and assigned an Edina detective to the BCA Violent Crime Reduction Unit to work with regional partners.[3] Investigators also seized and searched a white Honda Accord on Sept. 24, and BCA labs are analyzing casings, phones and magazine packaging as evidence.[4]
A July shooting at Yancey Park is part of what police describe as a pattern of gunfire at community gathering places that includes the church incident.[3] Search-warrant filings later showed the Our Lady of Grace attack involved two to three shooters positioned on the church's north entrance road, left 55 recovered casings and caused ballistic damage to two parked SUVs.[4]
Early accounts had described a single shooter in a passing car, but later reporting based on search-warrant documents revised that view and described multiple shooter positions and a very high round count.[4]
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher used the Edina incidents to press for a regional Somali gang task force and to criticize Hennepin County leaders, calling for more aggressive arrests and federal charges.[5] Community leaders, including Hassanen Mohamed of the Minnesota Somali Community Center, said Somali families and youth programs are actively helping and warned against stigmatizing the broader Somali community.[1]
Show source details & analysis (6 sources)
📌 Key Facts
- The Our Lady of Grace church shooting involved two to three shooters positioned on the church’s north entrance road (earlier accounts described a passing car), produced 55 recovered casings, caused ballistic damage to two parked SUVs and, according to police, resulted in no injuries reported — details laid out in the search-warrant reporting. Our Lady of Grace church
- Edina police say the church incident began when a carload of young people opened fire on Somali teens playing basketball, and investigators later found a high round count and multiple shooter positions rather than a single passing shooter. Police search for answers after gunfire outside Edina church
- Chief Todd Milburn and Edina police publicly characterize the July Yancey Park shooting and the Our Lady of Grace shooting as part of a pattern in which Somali teenagers and young adults have been targets or involved in gunfire at community gathering places. Police search for answers after gunfire outside Edina church
- Investigative and evidence actions include increased patrols and mobile cameras, assignment of an Edina detective to the BCA Violent Crime Reduction Unit to work with roughly 30 officers on regional cases, seizure and a Sept. 24 search of a white Honda Accord, and BCA lab analysis of casings, phones and magazine packaging. white Honda Accord
- City officials initially planned an in‑person meeting at Our Lady of Grace, shifted the meeting to online-only when the church could not host, and then reversed course to hold an in‑person event at Edina City Hall after online criticism. Edina City Hall
- Roughly 200 people attended the Monday, October 5 community conversation at Edina City Hall, which included representatives from Edina police, the BCA, the Hennepin County Sheriff, the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and the FBI. community conversation
- Residents said they felt “angry, frightened and extremely frustrated,” reporting fear of routine activities; Mayor Jim Hovland urged maintenance of “community cohesion” while calling for those responsible to be prosecuted. Mayor Jim Hovland
- Community leaders and police say they are working directly with Somali community leaders, families and youth organizations, soliciting tips (including video), and cautioning against stigmatizing the broader Somali community while addressing the violence. Police search for answers after gunfire outside Edina church
- Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher (and Deputy Jama Shine) framed the incidents as part of a metro-wide Somali gang problem, used the Edina shootings to press for a Somali gang task force and criticized Hennepin County leaders while calling for more aggressive arrests and federal charges. Sheriff Bob Fletcher
📰 Source Timeline (6)
Follow how coverage of this story developed over time
- Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher explicitly links his regional Somali gang task-force push to the Edina incidents at Yancey Park and Our Lady of Grace alongside Eden Prairie’s homecoming and Speedway shootings.
- Fletcher and Deputy Jama Shine publicly frame Somali gangs as a metro-wide problem, not just an Edina/Eden Prairie issue, and say the group of violent actors is a small, known subset of the broader Somali community.
- Fletcher uses the Edina shootings and community anger as fresh justification to criticize Hennepin County leadership and call for more aggressive arrests and federal charges.
- Roughly 200 people attended Monday night’s ‘community conversation’ at Edina City Hall, including representatives from Edina police, BCA, Hennepin County Sheriff, Hennepin County Attorney’s Office and the FBI.
- Police Chief Todd Milburn publicly framed the shootings as ‘shocking’ and asked residents to ‘activate and help us out,’ emphasizing the need for broader community cooperation.
- Mayor Jim Hovland urged residents to maintain ‘community cohesion’ while calling for those responsible to be prosecuted.
- Police reiterated that both the Yancy Park and Our Lady of Grace shootings involved Somali teenagers and young adults as victims or suspected shooters, and community leaders warned against stigmatizing the broader Somali community.
- Residents on the record described being ‘angry, frightened and extremely frustrated’ and said they now fear routine activities like shopping or working out because of the shootings.
- Hassanen Mohamed of the Minnesota Somali Community Center said Somali community members are actively helping and ‘meeting [youth] where they are,’ pushing back on any narrative that the community is passive.
- Edina’s public meeting will explicitly cover both the Our Lady of Grace church shooting and the earlier Yancey Park shooting.
- City officials initially announced an in‑person meeting at Our Lady of Grace, then shifted it to online-only when the church couldn’t host, and then reversed again to an in‑person event at City Hall after online criticism.
- The city’s public notice highlights strong community concern about recent gun incidents in Edina and surrounding communities.
- Confirms through warrant documents that the Our Lady of Grace incident involved at least two to three shooters positioned on the church’s north entrance road, not just a single shooter in a passing car.
- Quantifies the Our Lady of Grace gunfire at 55 recovered casings, establishing it as a very high‑round-count event.
- Details ballistic damage path through two parked SUVs on church grounds, indicating vehicles — not just people — were hit.
- Reveals specific investigative steps: seizure and Sept. 24 search of a white Honda Accord left near the court, and BCA lab involvement with casings, phones and magazine packaging.
- Edina police confirm a second shooting in recent months, where a carload of young people opened fire on Somali teens playing basketball at Our Lady of Grace Church; no injuries were reported.
- Chief Todd Milburn publicly characterizes both the July Yancey Park shooting and the church shooting as part of a pattern where Somali teens and young adults are either targets of, or involved in, gunfire at community gathering places.
- Edina PD is increasing patrols, deploying mobile cameras, and assigning a detective to the BCA Violent Crime Reduction Unit to collaborate with about 30 other officers on these and similar regional cases.
- Police say they are working directly with Somali community leaders, families and youth organizations to address the violence and are soliciting tips, including video, for both incidents.