A 10-year-old boy was arrested in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on suspicion of stealing a car and driving recklessly near a school playground, nearly hitting other children who were playing.
According to reports, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said Friday that the incident happened on September 20 on the playground outside Nellie Stone Johnson School. fox 9.
Surveillance camera footage shows the boy driving the stolen car back and forth behind the playground, then ending up on a sidewalk just meters from the playground as children were nearby.
O'Hara said the child was not hit by the car.
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A 10-year-old boy has been arrested after stealing a car and driving recklessly near a school playground in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Fox 9)
O'Hara said a 10-year-old boy was identified as the driver Thursday. He was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault and booked into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center.
The Hennepin County Attorney's Office announced charges in the case in a press release Friday, FOX 9 reported. O'Hara said the boy was charged with reckless driving and receiving stolen property.
The law firm also said it cannot prosecute a person if they are incapable of assisting a lawyer in their defense or unable to understand the legal process.
A court-appointed psychologist determines whether the person is competent and submits an opinion to the judge, who makes the final decision. If a child is determined to be incompetent, the child is released from custody and the case is dismissed or put on hold.
Surveillance camera footage showed the boy driving the stolen car back and forth behind the playground and then onto the sidewalk. (Fox 9)
“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 are proactively working with our law enforcement and county and state partners on the importance of safely and appropriately placing children with complex needs and specialized care out of the home. We cannot go out of our way to sue or prosecute people about this crisis. ”
“What we need is clear: provide communities with housing with varying levels of safety, resourced and staffed to accommodate and appropriately treat young people with complex needs. ,” the statement added. “And we need urgent and immediate action to address this issue now.”
O'Hara said the boy has been suspected of stealing cars in the past and has been arrested in at least two other cases related to auto thefts. He is also listed as a suspect in more than a dozen other cases, including auto theft, assault with a dangerous weapon and robbery.
The child's criminal history dates back to May 2023 and has about 30 records, most of which were runaways. Police said in a press release that the boy's family is cooperating with law enforcement and is seeking assistance “to prevent injury or death to our son or others,” according to FOX 9.
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No children were hit by the car, police said. (Fox 9)
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O'Hara said he was charged Friday in a separate incident from August. In this incident, a juvenile and other minors approached the victim with a knife in hand and attempted to steal the victim's car while threatening to “eviscerate'' the victim.
The boy was charged with threats of violence and attempted theft of a motor vehicle in the case, O'Hara said.
“It is unbelievable that a 10-year-old boy could commit this level of criminal behavior without effective intervention,” O'Hara said. “Prison is not an acceptable option for a 10-year-old boy. But adults who can stop this behavior in the future must act now. This is just one example of the revolving door we are dealing with – Arrests and Rearrests This is a complex issue that requires all organizations involved in the intervention to come together immediately to establish short- and long-term solutions.”
