3-year-old boy shot in north Minneapolis home in 'very serious condition'

A 3-year-old boy was shot and seriously wounded Friday inside a north Minneapolis home, and police are working to determine the source of the gunfire.

Officers were called at 11 a.m. to the home in the 2700 block of N. Thomas Avenue on a report of a "medical situation," said police spokesman John Elder. Fire and ambulance crews were already on the scene tending to the boy's gunshot wound.

The boy was taken by ambulance to HCMC where he was in "very serious condition," Elder said.

Elder said the shot came from inside the residence, and "we're working on what led up to the incident." There have been no arrests.

Elder said it is not yet known whether the child was shot by someone else or whether the wound was accidentally self-inflicted. "Obviously, that's one of the things we are looking at, but we don't have that nailed down yet," he said.

Minneapolis has seen five incidents of children 10 years old and younger being hit by gunfire on the North Side since late April, two of them fatally, with no arrests in any of the cases.

There have been 338 total shootings in Minneapolis so far this year and 49 homicides.

Elder made a plea for information from the public, which has yet to crack any of the cases since the first of the children was shot more than six weeks ago.

"We know that there are people out there who know something," he said, "and we need them to come forward."

In addition to Friday's shooting incident:

• On July 9, a 3-year-old boy was critically wounded by gunfire in the 3300 block of N. Emerson Avenue. Officers rushed the boy to North Memorial Health Hospital.

• On May 17, 6-year-old Aniya Allen was shot while riding in her mother's car. She died two days later. The two had just left a McDonald's and were driving through the intersection at N. 36th and Penn avenues, where a gun battle broke out and Aniya was shot. Aniya's grandfather is longtime anti-violence activist K.G. Wilson.

• On April 30, 10-year-old Ladavionne Garrett Jr. was shot and severely wounded while riding in a vehicle in the 3400 block of N. Morgan Avenue. A bullet pierced the trunk and struck Ladavionne as he was eating from a can of Pringles, officials said. The boy continues to fight for his life.

Elder also reiterated that in late May, relatives of Ladavionne, Trinity and Aniya joined officials to announce a $30,000 reward for information leading to an arrest or conviction in those three cases. That amount has since grown to $35,000.