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MPR’s Cathy Wurzer interviews Minneapolis Mayor R.T. Rybak about Tyesha Edwards shooting. Two men, ages 21 and 23, are in custody in connection with the shooting.

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CATHY WURZER: Well, joining us now for more on the Tyesha Edwards shooting is Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak. Good morning, Mayor.

RT RYBAK: Good morning, Cathy. Happy to be here.

CATHY WURZER: Any new information you can share with us about the case?

RT RYBAK: Because of the sensitivity of this case and high importance of it, we want to make sure that we don't go too far in saying anything. So I have to be fairly careful. But I can say that we have a 21-year-old man and a 23-year-old man in custody. And we can say that we believe the incident is gang-related. It was not related to Tyesha, who was an innocent victim of this terrible tragedy.

CATHY WURZER: How do you stop something like this?

RT RYBAK: One of the ways to stop it is to have the whole community come together and understand how important this is. And that's what's happened in this case. People have come forward with leads. They won't tolerate this. And so they've called Rick Zimmerman at 612-673-2733. Our officers have gone door to door to get information. We've been out in the community hearing a lot.

And one of the best things we can do is to be coordinated, which is why the Minnesota Gang Strike Force is so important. This incident involved information from places in Central Minnesota, and the whole state, I think, has helped part of this. There's no way to solve, ultimately, all of this other than for us to come together and show anyone who wants to try to do something like this that this community is not going to tolerate it.

CATHY WURZER: Did you receive tips from the community about the shooting?

RT RYBAK: Yes, the community has been great about this. And I think one of the things that happened is that people immediately understood how heinous this crime was. They immediately came forward. People not only gathered to support the family emotionally but also gathered to help everyone by just spreading the word. And that's what's made the progress we've had. But we have to keep moving on this. And so anyone who has any information needs to come forward as soon as possible.

CATHY WURZER: How important is it to round up suspects before we go into this long holiday period?

RT RYBAK: Well, those early days are really the crucial ones in an investigation. And that's why this has been helpful. And the longer things go, the harder they are to solve. But we are very confident that we're moving with some good progress here.

CATHY WURZER: Tell us about Tyesha Edwards' family and the time you spent with them recently.

RT RYBAK: They are a really wonderful family that I wish I could have met any other way. And I think one of the things that's really special about them is that they're people who-- their first impulse is to open their arms out to folks. And even in the middle of all of this, they've been-- as people have come forward, they've been incredibly warm. We've spent time. I was there at the hospital with them. And they were obviously grieving, like any of us would be.

And we've been at their house and joined them at the funeral parlor, where they were doing the planning. And in all of those cases, part of their whole response has been that they've wanted to know how other people were feeling about that. And they feel absolutely lifted by the outpouring from people.

Linda, her mother, has talked a lot about how completely surprised and warmed she is by the incredible outpouring of emotion. I think for people out there who have said things or even said prayers or hopes, they've gotten to the whole family. And the family knows how embraced they are right now.

CATHY WURZER: And for folks in greater Minnesota listening to us this morning, outside Tyesha's home, there's almost like a makeshift memorial set up with signs from neighbors and friends and some of Tyesha's classmates about this incident. Does that say something about the neighborhood or the nature of this incident?

RT RYBAK: Well, one of the things about this neighborhood is that it's one where there's been some tremendous progress that has taken place. They face some tough issues, and they came together. And the block that she lives on is a very good block, where the neighborhood group has come together. And people know each other very well. This is a great thing.

I think the school also came together, [? Bancroft ?] School, where Tyesha and her sister Kia go, has really shown an outpouring of emotion. And this is a really close-knit community. I think one of the things when people don't know a neighborhood like this is that they often think, oh, a shooting took place, and it's a place where it's very frightening, and others-- there are some frightening places in every part of this state. But this is a special community where there's a lot of warmth. And in this, the worst of tragedies, you can really see people coming together.

Funders

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