Ramsey County sheriff urges action on Somali gang violence in Minnesota's Twin Cities

Right · 1Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher told NewsNation's "Elizabeth Vargas Reports", in an interview aired Tuesday 6 October 2026, that Somali gang activity is "a growing problem" the county must address. 1 Right · 1Fletcher warned that without action the area would "launch into a 200-year legacy that won’t be unlike what some of the European countries are seeing." 1 Right · 1Fletcher put the number of troublemakers at 300 out of 100,000 Somali people in the area, and said about 50 of them, whom Fletcher described as the ones carrying guns and shooting at others, should go to jail soon. 1

Right · 1Fletcher said half of those 50 should face federal RICO (racketeering) charges and half should be charged at county level. Fletcher said authorities are working with federal agencies and called for a regional law enforcement task force. 1 Right · 1Fox News reported the comments alongside a recent wave of violence in Twin Cities suburbs, including a late-night gunfight in Bloomington captured on a resident's surveillance camera that left nearly 100 shell casings, and another shooting in Eden Prairie. It said law enforcement describes the incidents as a retaliation cycle. 2 Right · 1In the Fox News account, Fletcher said "we have the opportunity to fix it" but that if the groups move into drugs and money, "we’re in trouble." Fox quoted Fletcher saying about 300 juveniles are involved and that 50 of them need to go to jail, with 25 prosecuted federally under RICO and 25 locally. 2

Right · 1Fletcher said part of the problem is that the gangs are new to local law enforcement and that prosecutors across the river in Minneapolis have been reluctant to prosecute offenders. Fletcher attributed some of this to Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty, saying Moriarty has not been sufficiently "aggressive." 2 Right · 1Moriarty's office pushed back. Spokesman Daniel Borgertpoepping, as spelled by Fox, said its prosecutors "communicate daily with law enforcement" and that its approach to violent crime "is consistent regardless of the race or ethnicity of those involved." 2 Right · 1Bloomington Police Chief Booker Hodges said the suspects, who remained at large, do not fit the typical gang stereotype. Hodges described them as coming from two-parent homes, living in apartments and buying legal firearms, and urged them to turn themselves in. 2

Right · 1Edina resident Jared Scribner told local officials that calling the problem "gun violence" avoids the facts. Scribner blamed Moriarty's office for refusing to address it and said 98% of gang members are Somali. 2