A 16-year-old carjacking suspect is in police custody after a chaotic stretch of south Minneapolis saw two armed carjackings and a Minneapolis police officer firing a single shot during the chase. No one was struck by gunfire, though accounts differ on whether anyone involved suffered minor injuries.
Two Carjackings in Quick Succession
According to the Star Tribune, the trouble began around 4:45 p.m. Thursday when the suspect allegedly tried to carjack a vehicle at gunpoint near West 31st Street and Pillsbury Avenue. He then allegedly carjacked a second vehicle at gunpoint, setting off a police response that would end blocks away. CBS News Minnesota similarly reported that the teen committed an armed carjacking before police caught up with him.
The stolen vehicle was headed south on Pleasant Avenue from West Lake Street when it made contact with a marked squad car traveling north, the Star Tribune reported. That collision point, in the 3000 block of Pleasant Avenue, is where the encounter escalated. A Minneapolis police officer discharged one round while confronting the suspect, but the newspaper's report states that no one was struck by gunfire.
Suspect Fled on Foot, Arrested Nearby
The suspect, who was alone in the carjacked vehicle, abandoned it and fled on foot before officers arrested him nearby, per the same account. He was transported to Hennepin Healthcare for evaluation, the Star Tribune reported, citing a police spokesperson identified as Parten.
Accounts of the aftermath conflict. FOX 9 reported that police said they were thankful no one was hurt, without identifying injuries to the officer, suspect or anyone else. The Star Tribune's report, however, states that two police officers sustained minor injuries. Hoodline could not independently reconcile the two versions.
FOX 9 also reported that the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension has taken over the investigation into the shooting, a standard step when Minnesota officers discharge weapons. Police closed off West 31st Street from Pillsbury Avenue to Grand Avenue during rush hour as the scene was processed, snarling traffic in the area, according to the Star Tribune's reporting. City officials, as relayed by Limitless News, said there was no ongoing danger to the public once the suspect was in custody.
Part of a Citywide Spike in Vehicle Crime
Thursday's incident lands amid a broader surge in Minneapolis auto theft this year. City data cited by KSTP show nearly 1,200 thefts so far in 2026, compared with 935 during the same period last year — a reversal after auto thefts had fallen 37% over the prior two years. Even so, the station reported that rolling 12-month figures still put thefts 38% below their mid-2023 peak, and that recent arrests appeared to coincide with a downward trend over the past week.
The contrast with neighboring St. Paul has been stark. In the first two months of 2026 alone, St. Paul logged 195 stolen cars compared with 1,054 in Minneapolis, the same KSTP report found. A separate CBS News Minnesota report noted Minneapolis had recorded 1,308 motor vehicle thefts as of mid-March, roughly 300 more than the same stretch in 2025, while Ramsey County, home to St. Paul, has seen car thefts drop 61% over three years.
Minneapolis has been working to catch up on resources. KSTP reported that the department does not have a dedicated auto-theft unit and relies on a single officer to manage its bait-vehicle program. CBS News Minnesota reported that the Hennepin County Sheriff's Office Auto Theft Task Force, working with three police departments, has recovered 169 stolen cars and made 48 felony arrests so far in 2026, and that Minneapolis police have implemented a pilot program using forensic scientists to process stolen vehicles for evidence.
