Minnesota’s Somali gangs: Bragging rights, TikTok clout, and a bloody July 4

Over the Fourth of July weekend, a soccer coach was killed in Minneapolis, a young man was shot and left fighting for his life, and a 300-person gathering broke into gunfire in northeast Minneapolis two hours after police had already broken it up once, according to police.

Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher says it all traces back to a Somali gang problem that barely existed three years ago and now spans the metro.

‘Great kids.’

The numbers are stark. According to Fletcher, there have been 14 Somali homicides and more than 100 gang-related shootings in the last two years, across roughly a dozen gangs. One Minneapolis officer told Fletcher 20% of Minneapolis homicides are now tied to Somali gangs.

Fletcher is careful to scope it though: Out