Today is the first day of classes here at the University of Minnesota. The headline "U Football Player Killed" graced the front page of the Minnesota Daily. It was with great sadness that I read of the shooting death of Brandon Hall late Sunday night in downtown Minneapolis.
Brandon grew up in Detroit and had just played his first football game here at the U of M only a few hours before the shooting. Apparently, a friend of Brandon's - Damian Haye was assaulted and robbed outside of South Beach Restaurant and nightclub in the Warehouse district late Saturday night. Hayes gathered some of his teammates, including Brandon, and found the group of three men who had robbed him at the corner of 3rd and Hennepin. As the group approached the three men, one of them drew a gun and shot Brandon. Fortunately, the perpetrators were apprehended through witnesses identifying the van they drove away in. All three men had several aliases and extensive criminal backgrounds. One was previously arrested for murder but never charged. The other two - one of them a U of M employee! - had multiple arrests. Police were a half a block away and rushed to the scene but Brandon was apparently dead. Although the perpetrators were captured, I have to ask myself: How can a kid survive Detroit only to be shot dead within a month of arriving in Minneapolis? What does this incident say about the safety level downtown when people can be assaulted, robbed, and shot in the open air in the warehouse district? I have had foreign visitors stay downtown when visiting the U of M without fear for their safety. Sadly, because of this incident along with others I know of, I may have to reconsider this in the future for their safety. Although I recognize there is no simple answer to this problem, we as a citizenry need to be proactive for the sake of our community and city. Certainly a perception of an increasingly dangerous downtown won't help the economic vitality of our inner city. Cutting the Police Department's budget and/or only attacking them is not the answer - I, for one, am calling them today to ask how I can help. Sincerely, John Erwin U of M Professor and City-Wide Park Board Commissioner _______________________________________ Minneapolis Issues Forum - A Civil City Civic Discussion - Mn E-Democracy Post messages to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subscribe, Unsubscribe, Digest option, and more: http://e-democracy.org/mpls
