A 17-year-old arrested for a North Minneapolis carjacking this week had a sidekick when he allegedly took a car at gunpoint, according to police. The teen, whose name hasn’t been publicly released because he’s being charged as a juvenile, brought a baby on board the stolen ride.

Dispatchers received a 911 call at 1:44 p.m. from Star Foods on the 800 block of Lowry Ave. N. The victim said his car had just been stolen at gunpoint, adding that the suspect brought an infant with him and placed the child in the backseat before driving away. 

Responding officers made a traffic stop near the carjacking scene and arrested the teen suspect. MPD has submitted the case to the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office for charging consideration.

KARE 11 News is not naming the suspect because he is still a juvenile and has not yet been charged in this case. But police sources tell reporter Lou Raguse that the boy – who turns 18 in August – has been arrested numerous times and is considered a “prolific” carjacker in Minneapolis.

How does someone who’s barely old enough to legally get behind the wheel become a “prolific” carjacker? I’d say a lack of parental involvement is one major ingredient. When that’s combined with a juvenile justice system that looks to excuse criminal acts instead of ensuring consequences for them, you end up with incidents like this. 

Just one month ago, the teen was charged in juvenile court in a separate incident for possessing a machine gun kit and committing a crime while wearing a bulletproof vest, with prosecutors adding an additional gun charge.

When police pulled the teen over for a traffic stop, they found a Glock handgun with a switch attached, along with a 50-round magazine, a locksmith tool used to clone key fobs that had been taken at gunpoint from a local locksmith, and an open bottle of tequila. 

Amazingly, the teen was quickly released from custody, according to KARE-TV, only to be arrested once again on Wednesday. 

The slim Democrat majority in Minnesota has spent a lot of time and energy over the past few legislative sessions going after lawful gun owners; criminalizing the possession of binary triggers, mandating “universal” background checks, and imposing a “red flag” gun confiscation law. At the same time, they’ve taken a “restorative justice” approach to crime, particularly juvenile offenses. 

The results have been less than impressive. Serious juvenile offenses, including homicide, continue to plague the Twin Cities, and kids as young as 12-years-old are being busted in stolen cars or for possessing firearms. Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara told KARE-TV back in March that his department is underfunded and understaffed, but also seemed eager to point the finger at gun owners instead of the teens who are committing a staggering number of violent offenses. 

“I see, internally, how burnt out some of our officers are,” Chief O’Hara said. “We have to realize that we’ve gotten 40% smaller than we were three years ago when there was much less crime and violence, and we have to recognize that it’s not sustainable.”

Chief O’Hara says it’s no secret that much of the strain on the MPD right now can be traced to an exponential growth in juvenile crime, from car thefts sparked by the viral videos that exposed Kia and Hyundai security issues to a recent cluster of fast-paced robbery sprees. 

… “While I am all for the Second Amendment and lawful gun ownership at the same time, I think we have to remember that the facts just are, you know, when there are more guns in circulation, there will be more harm. 

The majority of the guns that wind up in crimes in Minnesota were originally legally purchased here. That’s different from where I come from is different from a lot of other cities. It’s different from what you would see on the West Coast or in the Northeast.”

While he wouldn’t rule out supporting some types of gun control legislation, O’Hara says his chief concern is getting help for his officers, which begins with a new contract.

With all due respect to O’Hara, it’s absolutely false that more guns means there’s going to be more crime. Just look at Constitutional Carry cities like Miami or Phoenix, where homicides are plunging despite (or maybe because of) plenty of armed citizens on the streets. Murders in Minneapolis, on the other hand, are up by 11% compared to this point in 2023. 

Should gun owners bring their firearms inside with them instead of leaving them behind in unlocked cars? Absolutely. But blaming gun owners for being the victim of burglary or theft is absolutely absurd, especially when the thieves themselves are usually walking away with a slap on the wrist at worst. We’re now four years into Minnesota’s disastrous experiment in criminal justice reform and the evidence of its failure is plain to see… at least for those willing to open their eyes to reality.