4th of July chaos breaks out in Minneapolis as fireworks, gunfire ring out

Downtown Minneapolis was a scene of chaos throughout the evening, with fireworks being launched from cars, endangering pedestrians and drivers in the vicinity.

Interim Police Chief Amelia Huffman said the city received over 1,300 911 calls from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m., noting Minneapolis typically fields that many emergency calls in an entire day. She said some officers had fireworks aimed at them while responding to various complaints.

Huffman told reporters on Tuesday that the latest HR data from June 18 shows the department has 564 active officers. It’s well below MPD’s authorized strength of 888 sworn officers, according to a city spokesperson. A recent court decision requires the city to have at least 731 officers.