A troubled 10-year-old boy who has already been arrested multiple times for car thefts has been arrested again in Minneapolis last month for allegedly stealing a car and nearly running over children in a park.
surveillance video Fox 9 shows available On September 20, dozens of children were playing nearby at the Nellie Stone Johnson School in north Minneapolis when a miniature menace whirled around the playground.
At one point, as the young child tried to walk to meet her guardian, a car crossed the entrance path, horrifying footage shows. Thankfully, the child was not injured during the dangerous stunt.
The boy was arrested Thursday on suspicion of second-degree assault and booked into a juvenile detention center, Fox 9 reported, citing police.
Shockingly, the 10-year-old boy is no stranger to Minneapolis police, with an arrest history dating back to May 2023.
He had been arrested twice for car theft-related offenses and was also a suspect in an assault with a deadly weapon, the report said.
In the August incident, the boy allegedly pulled out a knife in an attempt to hijack someone's vehicle. If the woman tried to resist, the little devil threatened to “break her in the stomach.”
Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said at a news conference Friday that the boy is part of a disturbing trend plaguing the Midwestern city.
“This is an example that we should focus on because this is an issue that we've been seeing all year,” he added. “I noticed that I was getting younger,” he continued.
“It started with a key and Hyundai theft problem, but it continues to evolve into more serious crimes.”
Chief O'Hara also said the child's family was cooperating with police and had previously called for more serious intervention to no avail.
He said “the system” had failed the mother and that his office was advocating on her behalf.
The boy's mother reportedly told him that her son and other psychotic boys were committing these crimes “for their own enjoyment.”
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office is charging the boy with reckless driving and theft.
“Our community faces an urgent crisis related to the small number of children in the juvenile justice system who are incompetent to stand trial but cannot safely remain at home,” the attorney's office said in a statement. “There is,” he said.
“We cannot indict or prosecute our way out of this crisis.”
“This is just one example of the revolving door we're dealing with, where we arrest and re-arrest the same juveniles for auto theft and other violent crimes,” Chief O'Hara reiterated.
