Asian Media Access’ Youth Media Force team has been working hard to utilize their newly learned Multimedia skills to create Gun Violence Prevention materials to engage their peers for further discussion of these concerned issues.
Based on the number of murders reported by the FBI data and the number of residents living in the city, we see 2019 Minneapolis’ FBI Violent Crime Rate (Crime rate per 100K people), was at 925.7, compared to MN’s crime rate, it is 4 times higher, and 3 times higher than the national average.
And in 2023, the situation worsened – in Minneapolis, the violent crime rate increased to 1,226 per 100,000 people, which is more than 4.4 times higher than the Minnesota state average and 3.3 times higher than the national average. Where riots happened – Near North neighborhood in Minneapolis has the highest violent crime rate at 2,813 per 100,000 people, and the Thomas/Dale neighborhood in St. Paul has the highest crime rate at 1,409 per 100,000 people.
Violence has had a profound impact on our youth and young adults, with alarming rates of incidents involving firearms disproportionately affecting this demographic. Between 2021 and 2023, individuals aged 18-24 accounted for 21.8% of gun violence victims in MN, despite comprising only 8.8% of the state’s population.
Similarly, those aged 15-17 made up 6.5% of victims while representing just 4% of the population. This disproportionate impact is particularly severe among Black youth, who represent about 5.2% of Minnesotans aged 15-17 and 12.2% aged 18-24 but made up roughly 50% of gun violence victims in these age groups during the same period.
Photo courtesy: MINNPOST
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) data reveals that from 2021 to 2023, approximately 308 * 15-year-olds, 397 * 16-year-olds, 458 *17-year-olds, and 566 * 18-year-olds experienced some form of gun violence. These incidents range from homicides and assaults to carjackings and robberies involving firearms. The increase in such violent encounters, especially among juveniles, has also been noted by local police departments. In 2023, juvenile victims of gun violence in Minneapolis rose to 62, accounting for 15% of the city’s total shooting victims, up from 10.6% in 2022.
Photo courtesy: MINNPOST
Additionally, last year, the tragic stabbed to death of a 15-year-old student at St. Paul Harding High School in February 2023 underscores the severity of violence within schools as well. This incident was part of a larger trend of increased weapons and assault incidents in Minnesota schools post-pandemic. In the 2022-2023 school year, schools reported 1,750 incidents involving weapons and 4,329 assaults, a significant increase from the previous year. Although incidents involving guns specifically decreased slightly, the overall rise in violence reflects ongoing concerns about safety in educational environments. Especially many Asian American students reported being bullied verbally and physically in MN schools.
AMA’s Youth Media Force Team has been working hard to bring forward the severeness of the Gun Violence impacting on young people, and Asian Media Access also worked hard to collect local stories about the Asian American students being bullied, and taking the lead to generate a documentary about such racism acts toward Asian American students before/during/post pandemic. Stay tune for more creations to engage the society in large to push for system changes and protect our young people more.
