MPD: 2 people arrested in connection with the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old girl

Minneapolis police report they have arrested two teenagers in connection with the fatal shooting of a 15-year-old girl on Saturday.

According to MPD, the two male teenagers, ages 16 and 17, were arrested for aiding and abetting a crime.

Investigators are considering the case open and active as they try to determine what led to the shooting.

In social media posts, relatives identified the victim as 15-year-old Tyra Terry.

The family told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that they are planning a vigil at the crime scene on Monday at 7 p.m. to remember her. Candles, flowers and balloons are placed outside the house where the teenager was shot on Saturday afternoon.

Minneapolis police were called to the 3400 block of Logan Avenue North around 1:50 p.m. for a report of a shooting at a home.

According to authorities, the 15-year-old girl was found in the home with a single gunshot wound.

The teenager was taken to North Memorial Hospital, where she died.

“I am deeply troubled by the gunshot death of a 15-year-old girl,” Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara said. “Whether this is a horrific accident that highlights the need for proper gun care and storage, or whether this is somehow related to the rise in teen violence, the loss of a 15-year-old girl is an unacceptable tragedy.”

This is the second weekend in a row that children have been shot in Minneapolis.

On the morning of August 18, four children, all under the age of 15, were shot in a stolen Kia, one of whom was seriously injured.

“It breaks my heart, and we are the adults protecting them,” said Sondra Samuels, CEO of the Northside Achievement Zone (NAZ) in Minneapolis.

Samuel's organization specializes in working with families and is committed to giving children a better future.

“Let’s get them involved, especially those who are concerned about these things early on,” Samuels said, urging families to get involved before their children go down the wrong path.

Although NAZ works with numerous community groups and organizations, Samuels acknowledges that some of the current crime trends are more serious than they can handle.

“They wanted to leave everything back to the community, but the community cannot handle the scale of what we are currently experiencing,” Samuels said, adding: “I keep saying, we don't have a child problem, we have an adult problem.”

This includes adults in leadership positions – not just family members. She stresses that support from local and state leaders will be critical to curbing child crime rates.

“A lot of money for residential homes, for the street children, for major interventions, in terms of what our children need most now [that’s] “Trauma-informed treatment is the only thing that works right now,” Samuels said.

Samuels says she will advocate for the establishment of “residential communities for young people” involved in serious crimes.