Two kids shot near Minneapolis park

An 11-year-old boy was shot in the abdomen and a 15-year-old girl was shot in the leg late Friday afternoon while they stood at a Minneapolis street corner across from a city park.

Police said it was unlikely the victims were the intended targets. It's unknown who the targets were or what prompted the shooting, they said.

The boy underwent surgery Friday evening at North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale. Police said they didn't believe his injury or the girl's was life-threatening. The girl was being treated at Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis.

Police spokesman Sgt. William Palmer said the shots were fired from about a block away in the direction of 30 to 50 kids, including the victims, who were near the intersection of 29th and Lyndale Avenues N.

The victims, who are not related, were standing near a bus stop across the street from Farview Park around 5:45 p.m. and went into the park building after the shooting, Palmer said. The shots were fired from near 29th and Aldrich Avenues N.

The boy's aunt Linda McFarland said he came out of surgery Friday evening but had numerous internal injuries. He was at the park waiting for a bus for a field trip, she said.

"He was where he was supposed to be. He did nothing wrong," she said. "He almost lost his life, and now he has to live with a bullet in his back."

McFarland said he played basketball and baseball and was a "nice, wonderful little boy who doesn't bother anybody."

"He should have every right to stand in front of a park and not be fearful of being hurt or even shot," she said.

Friends of the girl said they recognized her when she came into the park building screaming and bleeding from the leg. They said they thought she had been coming to the park from an area library.

Dozens of children were attending after-school program activities at the park building, which was quickly evacuated and closed. The park was not part of the crime scene blocked off by police.

Police said they had suspect information but did not provide any details.

"I think we're very fortunate more people were not injured tonight," Palmer said.

Neighbors said the area is usually filled with children, especially after school.

Donna Kirley of Coon Rapids was visiting a friend when she heard about five or six shots, she said. She went outside to check on her parked car and discovered that it had been struck by a bullet. Police searched her car for over an hour to recover the bullet.

Sgt. D. Fred McCormick of the Minneapolis park police said shootings at or near city parks are rare. "We're not going to tolerate that," he said. "These were kids who come here a lot."

In December, a shooting at the Northeast Recreation Center left a young man with a bullet wound in the torso. The shooting in the 1600 block of NE. Pierce Street erupted out of an argument during a basketball game. Also that month, a shooting at the Jerry Gamble Boys and Girls Club in north Minneapolis left one man dead and an 18-year-old charged with second-degree murder. The victim had arrived at the club to talk to his nephew after the boy said other young men were harassing him.

In the summer of 2006, an off-duty Minneapolis police officer working at Farview Park dove into a slowly moving car to stop it from plowing into a crowd of onlookers. The driver of the car, who had been shot and ran a red light at 29th and Lyndale Avenues N., died.

Anyone with information about Friday's shooting is asked to call the TIPS line at 612-692-8477.

Lora Pabst • 612-673-4628