Dozens of agencies will share intelligence through an existing crime gun center after several recent shootings across Twin Cities suburbs.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are joining dozens of Minnesota law enforcement agencies in an expanded effort to investigate gang violence after a series of shootings that authorities have linked to groups involving Somali and East African youths.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension announced Monday that 46 law enforcement agencies have agreed to coordinate investigations and intelligence through the state’s Crime Gun Intelligence Center. The effort brings together local police, county sheriff’s offices, state investigators and federal agencies rather than creating an immediate stand-alone regional gang task force. Officials said the goal is to connect information held by different agencies, identify people believed to be driving the violence and prevent additional shootings across jurisdictional lines.
BCA Superintendent Drew Evans said the agencies intend to improve intelligence sharing throughout the seven-county Twin Cities metropolitan area while building on investigative work already underway. The center is led by the BCA with the FBI and ATF and is designed to combine information about shootings, firearms and suspected offenders. Evans said authorities brought together more than 40 agencies to determine how they could work more effectively across Minnesota, with a particular focus on the metro area.
The expanded coordination follows several recent nonfatal shootings that police have described as gang-related. Authorities have pointed to incidents in Eden Prairie, Edina and Bloomington, along with a shooting on Highway 100 in St. Louis Park. FOX 9 reported that more than 100 rounds were fired outside a Bloomington home in an incident authorities connected to an earlier shooting outside an Eden Prairie homecoming football game. Officials have said some of the recent violence involves Somali and East African gang members.
Law enforcement leaders have also cautioned against treating the conduct of suspected gang members as representative of Minnesota’s broader Somali American population. Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said authorities are dealing with a Somali American gang problem but stressed that the wider community is not responsible for the criminal activity. Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt has similarly warned against stereotyping Somali residents because of the actions of a relatively small number of people.
Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher has estimated that about 300 Somali American gang members are active among a much larger gang population in the Twin Cities. Fletcher said the region has roughly 1,000 to 2,000 gang members overall. Those figures are law enforcement estimates rather than a publicly documented count, and officials have described several different groups and networks operating in the metro area.
The FBI and ATF said federal charges are among the options investigators will consider when evidence supports them. FBI Special Agent in Charge Chris Dotson said the federal Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, commonly known as RICO, is one potential tool. The statute allows prosecutors to pursue cases alleging that defendants participated in an ongoing criminal enterprise, but officials have not announced new RICO charges tied to the recent suburban shootings.
ATF is also shifting personnel toward the gang investigations. ATF Special Agent in Charge Joe Persails said the agency restructured its investigative operation so one enforcement group can concentrate on gang-related violence while another prioritizes shootings. Hennepin County is separately assembling an enhanced enforcement team involving sheriff’s deputies, Minneapolis police, University of Minnesota police, the Drug Enforcement Administration and ATF.
The federal role builds on earlier gang investigations in Minneapolis. In February, federal authorities announced charges against five alleged members or associates of the Family Mob street gang following a coordinated operation involving federal and local agencies. Prosecutors alleged that the organization used violence while trafficking narcotics, including fentanyl. Those allegations are being handled separately from the new regional response to the recent shootings.
Minnesota has tried regional gang enforcement structures before. The Metro Gang Strike Force was shut down in 2009 after allegations involving improper seizures, missing evidence and investigative misconduct. Evans said the current model operates differently, relying on existing task forces with oversight from the Violent Crime Coordinating Council. He said participating units have boards and auditing systems intended to provide checks on their work, while the Crime Gun Intelligence Center has sought legal guidance from the Minnesota attorney general’s office.
Officials have not ruled out creating a dedicated regional gang task force if violence continues, but Evans said the current framework allows agencies to begin coordinating immediately. For now, investigators are concentrating on intelligence sharing, identifying the people they believe pose the greatest threat and determining whether individual cases are best handled by local, state or federal prosecutors.
Author note: Last updated October 20, 2026.