Minneapolis Adopts St. Paul-Inspired Model to Investigate Non-Fatal Shootings
- Rebecca Gilbuena
- 7 minutes ago
- 3 min read
Minneapolis city leaders announced the launch of a new multi-agency task force aimed at aggressively investigating non-fatal shootings and reducing gun violence across the city. The Firearm Assault Shoot Team, known as FAST, began operations March 23 and is designed to treat non-fatal shootings with the same urgency and investigative resources traditionally reserved for homicides.
At a press conference in south Minneapolis, Mayor Jacob Frey, Police Chief Brian O'Hara, community leaders, and several Minneapolis City Council members described the initiative as a major shift in the city’s public safety strategy.
But the program did not emerge overnight. Ward 2 Council Member Robin Wonsley says Council spent months studying the success of a similar task force in Saint Paul before allocating about $2 million within MPD's $220 million budget for a non-fatal shooting task force in Minneapolis.
“We spent over a year really diving into this program and figuring out how we could bring this across the river to help our residents be safe,” Wonsley said, crediting fellow council members and the city’s Public Health and Safety Committee for leading the effort. “Using less than 1% of MPD's budget, the task force is already delivering strong results and helping make our communities safer- all within just a month.”
A More Resourced, Rapid Response
Under the new model, investigators from the task force now respond immediately to non-fatal shooting scenes. Chief O’Hara said the department’s previous staffing shortages forced homicide investigators to split their attention between murders and non-fatal shootings, often delaying investigations.
“What’s different now is that a dedicated investigator responds immediately,” O’Hara said. “We’re treating these cases with the same intensity we would treat a homicide.”
Mayor Frey said the city can no longer afford to treat shootings where victims survive as lesser offenses.
“When somebody pulls the trigger, the fact that somebody didn’t die should not mean that we’re devoting lesser resources to the incident,” Frey said. “These are failed homicides, and they need to be treated with the same urgency.”
According to city officials, Minneapolis cleared roughly 80% of homicide cases last year, compared with only 47% of non-fatal shootings. Officials said the FAST team is intended to close that gap by dedicating trained investigators specifically to firearm assault cases.
Council Member Jason Chavez said the initiative is especially important for neighborhoods that have experienced disproportionate levels of gun violence, particularly Black, Indigenous, immigrant, and unhoused communities in south Minneapolis.
“We should have a city where people are free to play outside, where kids don’t have to fear getting shot at, and where residents feel safe going home at night,” Chavez said.
Community leaders also praised the initiative. Hassanen Mohamed, executive director of Minnesota Somali Community Center, called the task force a “data-driven, fact-driven initiative” and said many acts of gun violence are committed by repeat offenders who were never held accountable after prior shootings.
MPD Needs a Long-Term Investigator Solution
Council members say the initiative depends heavily on support from partner agencies because of ongoing staffing challenges within the Minneapolis Police Department. Another hurdle to sustainability is the current police contract which imits and caps the amount of police investigators MPD can have.
“Despite having hundreds of vacancies within MPD, the contract blocks the city from hiring the experienced officers needed to successfully execute a non-fatal shooting taskforce,” Wonsley said.
Still, Minneapolis city leaders believe the FAST initiative is a significant step toward reducing violence, increasing accountability, and improving public safety.
“We invest in programs that data shows works. Working class residents are counting on us to spend their dollars efficiently,” Wonsley said. “And this is already showing tremendous progress in helping keep our communities safer.”
The FAST team currently includes Minneapolis officers, personnel from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office and Metro Transit Police with officers from the Bloomington Police Department expected to join the in June.