A brazen daytime carjacking in south Minneapolis Monday afternoon left five people injured, including two teenage girls in critical condition.
In all, the vehicle crashed into a vehicle and bakery, rammed a squad car and struck the girls before jumping a curb, hitting a streetlight and bursting into flames.
"This could have been a lot worse, and we are thankful more people weren't injured," said Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder, who called the incident "horrific."
"The suspect had zero regard for life, public safety or anything else," he said. "The fact that he was still trying to get away when the car was on fire is mind boggling."
Surveillance video obtained by KSTP-TV showed the girls entering the crosswalk to cross the street, then trying to move out of the way as the car approached. They were struck near the bakery, which Elder said sustained "major damage."
The incident started at 17th Avenue S. and E. 26th Street about 2:15 p.m. An off-duty officer in a marked squad saw two people acting animated and went over to see if there was a problem.
The officer then received a report of a person driving erratically on 17th Avenue S. As the officer drove that direction, he noticed a car parked sideways that he believed might have been in an accident, said Elder.
It was later learned that the car was hit by a man who had carjacked a vehicle a few minutes earlier. Further down 17th Avenue S., the officer discovered a car crashed into the bakery at 17th Av. S. and E. Lake Street. The driver then spun around and rammed into the front-end of the squad, said Elder.
![Minneapolis police say multiple people are in critical condition after a vehicle struck pedestrians Monday afternoon in front of the bakery on 17th Ave and Lake St.] RICHARD TSONG-TAATARII ¥ richard.tsong-taatarii@startribune.com](https://arc.stimg.co/startribunemedia/NBRRULBE6TOO4EQH3IIGHXTEG4.jpg?&w=1080)
