Peter Xiong's chat on the front steps of his house was loud and tinged with urgency.

He was on the phone with a friend, not the Minneapolis police.

Such a scene near 26th and Knox Avenues N. would have been unlikely five years ago, when this then-notorious intersection erupted after cops accidentally wounded a boy in a botched drug raid.

Angry residents threw bottles and rocks. Cars were set ablaze, and several journalists were injured.

These days, crime is down dramatically in a transforming Jordan neighborhood. Gone are many of the pubescent drug dealers who littered the corridor selling marijuana either by pressing two fingers to their lips in a puffing motion or yelling "WEED!"

Out of business is the Big Stop Foods convenience store, where the peddlers would spend their meager profits on candy, chips and tiny plastic baggies to hold their "green-green."

The community garden built to emphasize peace during that chaotic period blooms in the now tranquil intersection.

"It's quiet over here now," said Xiong, who lives with his three brothers. "Real quiet."

Today, Jordan's top priorities have moved from fighting drug deals to lowering the city's highest foreclosure rate (162 through the end of July, more than double at this time last year), building more affordable housing and working to reduce crime. Three of the city's 32 homicides this year have occurred there.

"Change is coming," said Jerry Moore, executive director of the Jordan Area Community Council (JACC). "A lot of the fear is gone."

A rumor turned into a riot

It was different story on Aug. 22, 2002. Tensions were already thick between the black and Somali communities and the cops when a Minneapolis police SWAT team raided a house for drugs near 26th and Knox around 7 p.m.

During the search, a man who lived there apparently set loose his leashed pit bull.

The dog ran towards two shielded officers, who fired their MP-5 submachine guns in defense.

A bullet ricocheted off the pavement, striking 11-year-old Julius Powell in the forearm. False rumors quickly spread that police intentionally killed the boy and an agitated crowd swelled onto the corner.

Within minutes, those who looked unfamiliar became targets.

At least 10 people were hurt, including Star Tribune reporters David Chanen and Howie Padilla, who suffered broken bones, cuts and bruises.

Flames flew as five vehicles were damaged, including a TV truck.