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Police warn of pop-up “takeover events” turning violent
The social media-fueled events have led to hundreds of teens showing up at Becker Park all at once. Police plan to close down park next time.
CRYSTAL, Minnesota — Crystal Police say they will close down Becker Park if needed and turn away teens who arrive by rideshare if they follow through with a planned “take-over” event over the 4th of July weekend. A similar event last weekend led to several arrests.
Crystal Police Chief Brian Hubbard explains more about the nationwide trend in this Q & A with KARE 11 News.
KARE 11: What is a “takeover event?”
Crystal Deputy Chief Brian Hubbard: It’s some type of a social media blast that’s put together for, “Hey, gather up at this spot,” and it’s bringing hundreds of people together into typically a park area.
KARE 11: So what happened here then last Sunday?
Hubbard: Last Sunday mid-afternoon within an hour’s time we had about 300 juveniles show up, almost all by rideshare apps and they just ended up here in the park.
KARE 11: And did it turn into something dangerous?
Hubbard: The conduct was escalating. The conduct was getting more brazen, and then we started having fights break out amongst the different people in the park. At that point we determined this assembly has turned into we don’t know what’s going to happen next and we need to dissipate this group. Last Sunday we arrested 6 individuals for disorderly conduct.
Hubbard says the department is preparing for a social media-fueled “takeover event” being planned again at Becker Park sometime over the 4th of July weekend.
The most infamous example of the nationwide trend happened last year in Manhattan’s Union Square — when a PlayStation 5 giveaway planned by influencer Kai Cenat turned into a riot when thousands of people showed up.
KARE 11: You mentioned this is kind of a national trend. Is it happening at other cities locally as well in the metro?
Hubbard: We know of at least six other communities around the metro, probably more, but we know of six where they’ve had similar events in the last couple months.
KARE 11: Does it seem like these things just have the potential for a lot of things to go wrong?
Hubbard: Yes, I mean last weekend there was a lot of energy. Our concern is, again to the patrons who are here, that is a scary situation for families that enjoy this park… families are not going to want to be around for all the craziness that comes from those who are not here to enjoy the park. And as those groups tend to escalate, our concern is then what does that turn into something more severe? Do we have assaults, is there potential for guns?
KARE 11: So what are police planning to do this weekend?
Hubbard: Our plan for this park is we’re going to stop that mass gathering before it starts. So if we start to see large groups of people arriving by rideshare, we will take the action of closing the park at that point and moving everybody out of this space before they get to that large mass.
KARE 11: What do you want parents to know or to do about this sort of thing?
Hubbard: As a parent myself, it’s concerning that there would be that many unsupervised juveniles in a space like this where there isn’t going to be a lot of good that comes from it.
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Police said a marked squad car was turning left on Saturday night when a motorcycle crashed into the passenger’s side.
MINNEAPOLIS — A man was seriously injured in Minneapolis’ Audubon Park neighborhood Saturday night after police said he crashed his motorcycle into the passenger side of a squad car.
According to police, an MPD officer in a marked squad car was turning left from Central Avenue Northeast onto 28th Avenue Northeast around 9:30 p.m. when the collision happened.
Police said the adult male on the motorcycle had potentially life-threatening injuries and was taken by ambulance to Hennepin Healthcare. The officer had apparent non-life-threatening injuries, officials said and was also hospitalized.
No further details have been provided by authorities about either victim.
Preliminary information from police indicates the motorcyclist was driving fast when he hit the squad. A witness told police the motorcycle’s lights weren’t turned on.
Investigators said they suspect the motorcyclist was under the influence. A warrant for a blood draw was executed due to suspicion of a DUI, police said.
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It’s unknown if alcohol was a factor in the crash, but officials said the boys were all wearing seatbelts.
BIG LAKE, Minn. — The Minnesota State Patrol (MSP) reported two teenagers were killed and a third was critically injured after a single-vehicle crash early Saturday morning in Big Lake.
According to the report, a state trooper was traveling south on Highway 25 around 2:45 a.m. when they passed a speeding BMW going northbound.
Officials said the trooper then turned around to conduct a traffic stop but instead came upon a single-vehicle crash scene involving the BMW.
A preliminary investigation showed two 17-year-old boys, the driver and a passenger, were killed. Another passenger, a 17-year-old boy, was taken to HCMC with life-threatening injuries, according to the report.
MSP said all three boys lived in Elk River.
It’s unknown if alcohol was a factor in the crash, but officials said the boys were all wearing seatbelts.
The victims’ names have not yet been released.
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Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11’s newscasts. You’ll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
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With so many different options to choose from at the festival, we asked attendees what they liked.
MINNEAPOLIS — The first day of Taste of Minnesota kicked off Saturday in Minneapolis.
Thousands flooded into downtown, sampling from more than 50 food trucks.
But it’s not just yummy eats. Thirty bands will play this weekend on stages across five different “neighborhoods.”
Last year, organizers said there were around 120,000 people in attendance. This year, they say they’ve doubled most everything in the event to meet demand.
With so many different options to choose from at the festival, we asked attendees what they liked.
“This is not your typical tamale,” said Ken as he munched on one from the Chef Shack. “It tastes fantastic; the beans are fresh, the meat is fresh.”
Meanwhile, Emily was advocating for a fish from Ono Hawaiian Plates.
“Oh, my goodness,” she said after the first bite of poke nachos. “It’s not so heavy like some other things around here.”
Remy swears by the burgers at Parlour.
“It’s flavorful,” he said. “Doesn’t need anything else.”
Taste of Minnesota continues Sunday from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
WATCH MORE ON KARE 11+
Download the free KARE 11+ app for Roku, Fire TV, Apple TV and other smart TV platforms to watch more from KARE 11 anytime! The KARE 11+ app includes live streams of all of KARE 11’s newscasts. You’ll also find on-demand replays of newscasts; the latest from KARE 11 Investigates, Breaking the News and the Land of 10,000 Stories; exclusive programs like Verify and HeartThreads; and Minnesota sports talk from our partners at Locked On Minnesota.
Watch the latest local news from the Twin Cities and across Minnesota in our YouTube playlist:
