As the summer continues, aggravated assault numbers in Marcy-Holmes continue to climb with the temperatures. Crime rates in Cedar-Riverside are trending the opposite way, with decreases in crime across the board after spikes in auto thefts and aggravated assaults earlier this year.

Crime trends

Aggravated assault reports in Marcy-Holmes totaled 12 in the first three weeks of July, equaling the number of instances for May and June combined. According to Minneapolis Police Department crime statistics, total year-to-date incidents in the neighborhood as of July 21 have risen 143 percent, from 14 in 2018 to 34 this year.

Year-to-date numbers in Cedar-Riverside show a significant rise in crime rates so far this year compared to the same time frame in 2018, but the neighborhood has started to see steady monthly decreases this summer. Aggravated assaults this month have gone down by 70 percent since May, dropping from 10 to three as of July 21. Larcenies, auto thefts and thefts from motor vehicles in the area have also continued to decrease.

While typically an area low in crime compared to other University-area neighborhoods, Southeast Como has seen the second-highest total of burglaries in 2019 behind Marcy-Holmes. The area saw 34 burglaries as of July 21, a 55 percent increase from last year during the same period.

Notable incidents

MPD officers were called to the Burger King on Washington Avenue in Stadium Village on July 10 after a report of an altercation. Three juveniles assaulted an employee outside of the restaurant and fled the scene before officers arrived. The employee suffered minor injuries, telling officers the young men had left the area using the light rail nearby.

A man was reportedly assaulted July 13 on the 1000 block of 17th Avenue Southeast after firing an employee of his tree service business. After demanding wages owed and refusing to leave the work site, the man began punching and choking his now-former employer, striking him about 20 times and driving off before MPD arrived. Officers observed “bloody injuries to the business owner,” according to the incident report.

MPD officers responded to a report of a disturbance at Father Hennepin Bluff Park in the St. Anthony Main area July 11. Officers located the man described in the call and attempted to stop him when he ran from them. The man was caught and subdued by an officer before being arrested for fleeing from an officer and taken to Hennepin County Jail.