The relatives of the three children recently shot in Minneapolis' North Side joined city and business leaders Sunday to ratchet up pressure for anyone who has information to come forward.
"Every day, every day, every day, we wake up, it starts over again. The pain, the hurt, it starts over and over again," said Raishawn Smith, the father of 9-year-old Trinity Ottoson-Smith, who was shot earlier this month while jumping on a trampoline in the city's Jordan neighborhood.
Relatives of the three children gathered outside City Hall with representatives from the Minneapolis Regional Chamber of Commerce, the Minneapolis Downtown Council, and Crime Stoppers of Minnesota. The organizations said they're fundraising to offer $30,000 in reward money to people who provide information leading to an arrest or conviction.
The family's pleas for information were echoed by Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Medaria Arradondo, who said he had a clear message:
"There are those in our community who know who's done this," he said at the news conference. "Whether they're staying in your homes or apartments, whether you're shielding or putting away their guns for them. You are just as complicit, and we're gonna come after you."
The shootings of three young children — Smith, 10-year-old Ladavionne Garrett Jr., and 6-year-old Aniya Allen — in the span of just a couple weeks shocked a city already reeling from the pandemic, rising violent crime, and George Floyd's death in police custody last year.
"What hurts me is that I probably helped your families who did this to us," said K.G. Wilson, Aniya's grandfather, and a local activist who works to reduce violence.
"Look at us," he said, asking people who have information to share it.
