A man and a woman are in the hospital Monday morning with serious injuries after being shot Sunday night in Robbinsdale’s Sanborn Park officers heard multiple gunshots to the east of County Road 81 and 40th Avenue North around 9:20 p.m located on the 4200 block of Drew Avenue North they found a young woman – believed to be about 19 years old – who had been shot in the head who was taken to North Memorial Health Hospital While officers didn’t find any other victims at the scene a man believed to be in his 20s showed up at Methodist Hospital shortly after 10 p.m He was then taken to Hennepin County Medical Center with injuries listed as serious Police are continuing to investigate the shooting A witness who didn’t want to go on camera tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS the parking lot for Sanborn Park was filled with about 90 to 100 people saying many of them who looked like teens and a few others who appeared to be of toddler age and added the people in the lot were also on the roofs of vehicles The witness went on to say at least 20 rounds of gunshots were heard pop pop pop pop pop pop – at least 50 plus times they must be lighting off fireworks.’ I said no 911 and by the time I had the call done it was still going on,” said the witness 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS has asked police if there have been other violent crimes at this park Any person with disabilities who needs help accessing the content of the FCC Public File may contact KSTP via our online form or call 651-646-5555 Robbinsdale Police Department says multiple 911 callers shooting was reported at Sanborn Park, on the 4200 block of Drew Avenue North Officers arrived to a "very chaotic scene," with police finding a 19-year-old woman had been shot in the head with the woman taken to North Memorial Hospital with "grave injuries." Efforts to find other victims were initially unsuccessful, but a man in his 20s arrived at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park shortly after 10 p.m with gunshot wounds he sustained in Robbinsdale The man was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in a serious condition As of Monday morning no arrests have been made with Robbinsdale PD spokesman John Elder saying that while there were "were many people present" at the park "little information was shared with the police." The park was cordoned off by police on Sunday evening It's not clear whether it has reopened as of Monday morning Note: The details provided in this story are based on law enforcement’s latest version of events saying he'd killed the mother of his child which features a swimming beach and splash pad in the venerable Farmers and and Mechanics Savings Bank building is recovering after she was shot multiple times while playing outside last week Police arrived at a “chaotic scene” in Sanborn Park about 9:20 p.m. Sunday. Friends and family members of a 19-year-old woman shot in the head Sunday night in a Robbinsdale park have gathered in a hospital lobby to pray for her recovery. A relative identified the victim as Mari Diór in a Facebook exchange with a Minnesota Star Tribune reporter. In a social media video making the rounds on Monday afternoon, others were asking for prayer for Diór, who was taken to North Memorial Health Hospital after being shot in Sanborn Park on Sunday night. Police confirmed that Diór suffered “grave injuries” at the time. “We’re praying for you, Mari! Please, to everyone who knows the power of prayer — lift her up," the caption on the social media video reads. “Even if you don’t know her personally, call her name out while reading this post. Pray for Mari.” The plea said the video was posted by family request. Diór was one of two people shot about 9:20 p.m. as a large group of people were in the park. Police responded immediately, administered aid until paramedics arrived and took Diór to the hospital, said Robbinsdale police Capt. John Elder. About 45 minutes later, a man in his 20s who was believed to have also been shot in Robbinsdale showed up at Methodist Hospital in St. Louis Park. He was taken from there to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis, with serious injuries, Elder said. The man was expected to survive, Elder said. As of Monday afternoon, no arrests had been made, Elder said. Police were just a few blocks away from the park when they heard multiple gunshots and raced to the scene. About the same time, several 911 calls came in with reports of a shooting at the park in the 4200 block of Drew Avenue N. One of those 911 calls came from Gary Meyer, who lives directly across the street from the idyllic park where people go to watch baseball games, walk their dogs and enjoy family picnics. Meyer was out picking up trash about 8 p.m. and watched over the next hour as more and more people arrived in the parking lot that filled with about 30 to 40 vehicles. He smelled and saw marijuana and alcohol, and had a feeling something bad was going to happen, he said. “Pop, pop, pop, about 50 times,” Meyer said. Those in the park scattered on foot “left and right,” Meyer said. Two men ran through his yard, one who may have been shot. “They did not know where to go.” As an ambulance arrived, Meyer said he saw a victim lying in the parking lot with police performing CPR. She was taken away in an ambulance, he said. “This should not happen anywhere,” Meyer said. “Ridiculous.” Elder said the park is normally a peaceful place, with kids climbing on the roof of a stone building being the most serious of crimes. But on Sunday, police arrived to a “chaotic scene,” and despite a large number of people present, “people were not helpful” to investigators who were trying to learn what happened, Elder said. Some sped off in vehicles at high speeds, he said. Police had just been at the park about 30 minutes before the shooting to remind park users that Sanborn closed at 10 p.m., Elder said. Officers cordoned off parts of the park and Drew Avenue, with crime scene tape at the bottom of steps leading to Meyer’s home. Police on Monday were still trying to figure out what led to the shooting. Pink markings on the pavement showed where investigators had spotted and picked up evidence. As the sun came up Monday, Meyer and his wife, Heather Ring, were still trying to process what happened right across the street. “We really love living here. This is really, really sad,” Ring said. “This was something you would not expect to see even in the movies. It was kind of nuts.” Tim Harlow covers traffic and transportation issues in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area, and likes to get out of the office, even during rush hour. He also covers the suburbs in northern Hennepin and all of Anoka counties, plus breaking news and weather. Minneapolis Doğukan Günaydin was arrested March 27 by plainclothes officers from the U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement in Minneapolis James Duane Ortley made his first appearance on four counts of second-degree murder and remains jailed on $2 million bail Three men were charged in a separate slaying that took place four blocks away several hours later The most severely injured person in the back-to-back incidents died two days later A man was injured after a 13-year-old boy crashed into a home in Robbinsdale on Monday evening Police responded to the 3200 block of Grimes Avenue North just before 6 p.m and found a Chevrolet Tahoe with the front third of the vehicle in the home according to a release from the Robbinsdale Police Department Witnesses told police the 13-year-old was driving at the time of the crash told law enforcement she let the 13-year-old drive around the neighborhood they went to a store and while returning home the teen mistook the gas pedal for the brake and crashed into the home A man inside the home was injured when the walls of the home pushed into him He received non-life-threatening injuries and was taken to the hospital Robbinsdale Area Schools is bracing for layoffs ahead of the 2025-26 school year after a budgeting error resulted in a $21 million shortfall roughly 200 employees across the district will be affected including 182 certified school staff and 18 full-time-equivalent jobs at the district’s Education Service Center Superintendent Teri Staloch said in a letter on Friday Three assistant principal positions are also in line to be cut The district says its budget crisis came about by erroneously double-entering $20 million in compensatory funding into the district’s revenue projections Staloch acknowledged that payroll comprised 80% of the district’s expenses so any cuts would have to impact staffing levels “These reductions are incredibly difficult—and they are not made lightly,” Staloch said “We know each position represents a person and a meaningful connection to our schools Education Service Center layoffs are expected to save $2 million and staffing reductions in schools will amount to $13-15 million Staloch said not all of these cuts were due to fiscal pressures and “many reflect routine annual staffing changes due to enrollment changes or non-renewals unrelated to budget.” Staloch said the district will “likely” operate fewer schools in the near future “I would call Thursday and Friday a couple of the toughest days that we’ve had in a long president of the Robbinsdale Federation of Teachers said about last week’s news of the cuts.  and we’re going to do our best to lean into each other and get through this year and try to help those folks that don’t have a position with us [find] a great place to land,” he said adding the impact will be felt in the classroom as well.  “We know that next year they’re going to be fuller classrooms which means that we’ve got less time to dedicate to those one-on-one relationship building pieces as we try to individualize that instruction for our kids,” Eckhoff said Also concerned are the many families in the district “It’s been rough; [we] have two kids in the district,” Cait Bielefeldt said Her main worry is learning one of her son’s councilors won’t be there next year – after learning about possible cuts that were to be made, Bielefeldt started an online petition that has more than 1,000 signatures “There are just certain things that you can’t cut,” Bielefeldt said And my own children and so many others in the district have benefited from these services at school students lose a vital support system.” she said while nobody wants to be in their position “We’re the grownups in the room and we need to make sure that we have a rock-solid foundation for moving forward and the cuts absolutely had to be made,” Bowman said.  She also says it’s been years in the making: “I can kind of look back and connect the dots and see where the mistakes were made in the past 10 years Bowman is hopeful for the future with new district leadership in place: “We have a foundation to go from when I don’t think we had that in the past.” Following the announcement that roughly 200 staff members will be cut, the Robbinsdale Area School Board took the first action on addressing a more than $20 million budget shortfall At the board’s business meeting Monday they approved plans to change the start and end of school for all levels in the district and the expansion of its “walk zones” — according to the district the moves will save them hundreds of thousands of dollars Class will now start five minutes earlier for elementary students middle schools will start five minutes later and high schoolers will hear their final bell ten minutes sooner.  The district walk zones for elementary and middle schoolers have also been expanded by about a quarter mile.  Superintendent Staloch also shared publicly for the first time following the announcement of the cuts — at one point adding that with staff making up 80% of the district budget “Over the past few weeks we had to inform values employees some who have served our district for decades know that their position was being reduced or eliminated I want to recognize how difficult this is and want to thank staff who have been most impacted by these significant reductions,” Staloch said during the meeting.  some board members expressed concerns about how quickly things are moving while at least one shared support for district leadership The impacts of the cuts include more students per teacher; according to the district There could also be seven multi-aged classrooms at the elementary level “When we’re looking at increased classrooms really grave concerns that we’re not supporting our students the way we’ve agreed to do in terms of mental health support One family with those same concerns feels blindsided by the proposed cuts and worried about their elementary-aged daughter who relies on a nurse who was told they’re being let go really sad to see that be part of the cuts and feel like our kids aren’t a priority it’s incredibly insulting to parents,” Emily Wold said.  Robbinsdale police say a man who had warrants out for his arrest has been arrested after a crash during the overnight hours in Minneapolis officers were called to a possible domestic assault on the 4000 block of 37th Avenue North around 11:45 p.m they discovered a man had stolen the victim’s vehicle and had driven off The victim told officers the man may be armed with a gun that had also been stolen from that home Despite efforts by Crystal police officers to pull the driver over after finding him the chase entered Minneapolis and ended when the suspect lost control of the vehicle near the Mill City Museum A 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS photographer captured video of the crash scene – at Chicago Avenue and 2nd Street – shortly after midnight Friday morning The SUV was eventually pulled up an embankment by a tow truck after it crashed along the river and officers believe he went into the river He was eventually found and taken to an area hospital to be checked out for injuries is being held on probable cause for fleeing police Robbinsdale Area Schools is facing a deficit of millions of dollars next year due to an error in their budget process the school district’s chief financial officer said the shortfall for the 2025-26 fiscal year is somewhere between $19 and $21 million and the district is on track to be in a statutory operating deficit by the end of the current fiscal year A statutory operating deficit means the school district is over budget by more than 2.5% and will need to submit a corrective action plan to the Minnesota Department of Education Hoheisel says at this point the school district is only expected to trim about $3 million of the more than $17 million in proposed cuts for the current fiscal year and will end up in deficit spending The issue stems from an error when mocking up the district’s expected revenue “The actual budget itself is correct; it was an error in implementation,” said Hoheisel Robbinsdale Area Schools brings in around $200 million in revenue $180 million of that total comes from general revenues and the remaining $20 million is compensatory funding — funds reserved to address the needs of underperforming students the school district says it bundled the compensatory funds with the general revenue and then added it again separately creating the appearance of $20 million that the district didn’t have Teri Staloch explained the error was realized when the impact of the planned $17.4 million in cuts wasn’t as expected.“As we looked at it just asked what actually was reduced how are we filling some of the gaps and as we started digging into that and started asking those questions that’s when Kristin and her team recognized it wasn’t as we had thought,” said Staloch the school district says it has to have difficult conversations about how to move forward which could mean closing buildings or implementing a tax levy to cover the deficit there is going to be no way to make these reductions without impacting staff,” said Staloch we’re going to be looking at everything.” The school district held a town hall to address the budget situation from 6:30 to 8 p.m Community members who spoke expressed a range of reactions from exasperation about the error to suggesting the superintendent and CFO take pay cuts “Rdale’s commitment to our students and community remains unwavering,” Superintendent Dr “The work is just beginning as we reimagine what it means to be a student here in Rdale and we’re inviting the community to help shape a future that is both resilient and inspiring District leaders look forward to engaging with our school community over the next few months we’ll turn today’s challenges into an even brighter future for every Rdale student.” after being allowed to drive around the neighborhood by a relative The Robbinsdale Police Department says a Chevy Tahoe crashed into a house on the 3200 block of Grimes Avenue North shortly before 6 p.m Offices arrived to find "the front third of the vehicle buried into the home," with a man who was inside the home injured when he was struck by the wall that was pushed in by the SUV The man was taken to a hospital for treatment on non-life-threatening injuries Numerous witnesses to the incident identified a 13-year-old boy as the driver which was confirmed by the female relative who was the front-seat passenger in the car "Further information received is that the female decided to let the juvenile male drive the vehicle around the neighborhood the juvenile male mistook the gas pedal for the brake and the truck crashed into the house," Robbinsdale PD said Woullett’s Bakery in Robbinsdale is closing its doors after a final day on Sunday This news comes after other locations closed in Edina the bakery was a prime spot for all kinds of sweet treats The owners rented the building on Broadway Avenue A spokesperson told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS that the bakery plans to return in a new Robbinsdale location There are also three other locations where you can get the same baked goods: 822 West Lake Street in Minneapolis 4200 28th Avenue South in Minneapolis and 1423 5th Avenue in Anoka Golden Valley Police asked the Hennepin County Attorney’s Office to charge an assistant principal at Robbinsdale-Academy Highview School with felony obstruction after the principal allegedly hid brass knuckles that were used by one student to attack another student at the school in late November A Hennepin County Attorney spokesperson issued the following statement: it was determined that felony charges are not appropriate Burrage’s actions did not prevent charges from moving forward on the youth who was involved in the underlying assault Strong partnerships with schools are critical to our shared goal of improving community safety School officials have inherent authority to discipline pursuant to school policies and likely regularly encounter contraband Felony charges in this situation would have a dramatic chilling effect on school officials’ willingness to report to law enforcement or to intervene when contraband is found.” Aileen White is part of a parents and community group that sent a letter to Robbinsdale Area Schools asking for a full investigation and complete transparency after it is finished RELATED: Golden Valley police seek felony charge against assistant school principal “This individual took it upon themselves to hide “If the person is found to be at fault they should not allowed to be in either our schools or in that position.” Robbinsdale Area Schools declined an interview but a spokesperson told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS they had done a “thorough investigation” but did not comment further Attempts to reach the assistant principal for comment have been unsuccessful Robbinsdale Middle School students use laptops for an in-class exercise Administrators at Robbinsdale Area Schools said they will be making budget cuts and reducing staff after an error left the district with a $20 million shortfall Evan Frost | MPR News 2019PlayListenRobbinsdale schools to make budget cuts to address $20M shortfall errorGo Deeper.CloseCreate an account or log in to save stories We have added it to a list of your favorite stories The school district held a town hall meeting Wednesday night to discuss its budget Administrators at the Twin Cities-area district say staff counted a fund twice during the budget process making it look like the district had more money than it does School officials declined to comment specifically on how the budget error occurred and who caused it Robbinsdale needs to make up the gap in its 2025-26 fiscal year budget and the district is considering budget reductions That includes $180 million in general funding and $20 million in compensatory funding which is state funding that helps meet the education needs of students who are learning or performing under grade level Administrators say the compensatory funding is what was counted twice MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all At a town hall Wednesday night at Cooper High School in New Hope administrators said they are considering several options on how to move forward "One of the biggest heartbreaks in all of this is that we know that 80 percent of school district budgets are staff,” said Robbinsdale School District Superintendent Teri Staloch “It's going to be impossible to do this work without it impacting lives of people who are amazing." Robbinsdale has seen a decline in enrollment over the past few years Parents and staff expressed concerns that more students and staff would move out of the district and worried about which programs and teachers would be cut “These humans are raising my children,” said Kara Kurth who has three students enrolled in the district Leo Anderson is the dean of students at Sandburg Middle School and says he will stay with the district because he cares about the kids "I grew up in North Minneapolis when Robbinsdale was 97 percent white Now we're minorities and POC out here seeing people who look and sound like them to save the budget?” Anderson said “This is a pivotal moment for our district,” said Chief Financial Officer Kristen Hoheisel in an update on the district’s website “While these financial realities are difficult they also represent an opportunity to reimagine our approach to serving students I believe we can turn these challenges into a springboard for transformative growth for the district.” Hoheisel started at the school district in August She told town hall attendees she first noticed something was wrong in September but didn't feel confident going public with the numbers until they had more information The public was made aware of the error at a school board meeting Monday a little less than two weeks after voters passed a referendum that increased funding to the school district It's just really hard when you're still deep diving to go out and say we're deep diving." Administrators say they are seeking community input on how to approach long term solutions which they plan to submit to the state after they go into statutory operating debt That’s expected to happen at the end of this fiscal year Superintendent Staloch said the district can use the budget error as an opportunity to reimagine how the district serves students or we can look at this problem as an opportunity to grow and to dig into the potential of the school district and that's how I'm going to lead,” Staloch said The school district has seen a lot of administrative turnover whose children attended Robbinsdale schools said the district had a crisis of confidence "While I love the enthusiasm and the positivity and yes let's try to fix this and use it as an opportunity Town hall attendees also expressed gratitude for having an open meeting but said they wanted more transparency in the process — Multiple fire department vehicles and dozens of firefighters lined the hillside of Robbinsdale Park off East Fairmont Boulevard Tuesday managing an urban prescribed burn firefighters burned 10 to 12 acres of tall grasses throughout the park - on Wednesday firefighters will be burning another 10 to 15 acres The unique challenges of the Robbinsdale burn were making sure roads were safe and the smoke didn’t present a driving hazard or drift to Monument Health just a mile and a half west we had to make sure we had enough wind to actually lift the smoke up and out of the community as well,” said Cpt And it really comes down to the weather and keeping an eye out We have multiple lookouts up on the hillsides watching for people that are still walking their dogs through the park The fire department in coordination with multiple agencies has been planning the Robbinsdale burn for a couple of months and the weather allowed the Tuesday burn to take place This project came at the request of the Parks Department in preparation for a June event “So the parks departments actually reached out to the fire department to clean up some of the parks in the city,” Brubaker said because of the terrain that we have available Then what it does is you can actually see that it cleans up that dead grass that we have that's about knee high It allows it to rejuvenate with the rain that we're looking at getting in the next couple weeks you'll actually see that this turns very green.” Several agencies were involved in coordinating the burn to allow for safety as well as to provide valuable training and experience for firefighters and different agencies “I know there's multiple parks like Vicky powers Park we've actually burned before that's more on the north side where we're surrounded by neighborhoods right here but it's a different experience for a lot of us and being able to do prescribed fire around all these communities,” Brubaker said Robbinsdale Park is closed through Wednesday and Fire Station Four will be in charge of monitoring the area