Video: Boy, 10, jailed and charged with stealing car, driving through crowded Minneapolis playground

A 10-year-old boy who has been suspected in a variety of crimes, including robbery and auto theft, has been arrested and charged after police say he recklessly drove a stolen car across a crowded Minneapolis school playground, narrowly missing multiple children.

The boy was booked Thursday into the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center on suspicion of second-degree assault in connection with what happened at the playground about 11:45 a.m. on Sept. 20, a school day, outside Nellie Stone Johnson Community School in the 800 block of 27th Avenue N., police said.

Friday's charges allege reckless driving and receiving stolen property. Police Chief Brian O'Hara said the boy also was charged with threats of violence and attempt to commit an auto theft related to an August incident, when he wielded a knife and threatened a female motorist, allegedly telling her, "I will gut you."

Police records indicate that the boy, whose identity is being withheld by law enforcement because of his age, has at least 30 contacts with police dating to May 2023.

He has been arrested at least twice before for auto theft-related crimes, according to police. He's also listed as a suspect in more than 12 cases that range from auto theft to robbery to assault with a dangerous weapon. The remaining entries are mostly related to cases involving running away, police said.

Police records say one of the boy's auto thefts occurred late last year when he was 9 years old and stood 5 feet tall.

The boy's mother told the Star Tribune that her son was due in court Friday afternoon on allegations of stealing the car and "assaulting the person whose car it was." The Star Tribune is not identifying her in order to protect the boy's identity.

The woman, who lives in Minneapolis, acknowledged that her son steals cars, "but why he does it, I don't know. He doesn't come from a bad home. I'm a single mom. His father passed away."

She pointed to "kids who are in the community who are older and getting him into that. He's traumatized by these older kids. ... I want my son to get help. He's a 10-year-old kid."

In a news conference Friday with the playground as a backdrop, O'Hara expressed concern about the increasingly younger offenders officers are encountering. Kia and Hyundai thefts by teens have escalated to more serious crimes in recent years, he said. A Hyundai was stolen in this case.

"This is a situation where a mother — who I believe is a good parent — has been asking the system for help and the system has been failing her and been failing her child," the chief said. "It's disappointing to the community that when the police do bring someone like this in … that the system doesn't have an answer for what to do with someone this young."

O'Hara blasted a state law set to take effect in 2026 that raises the minimum age of delinquency from 10 to 13. He encouraged people to call their state representatives and ask that they reverse the law before it kicks in, "simply as a matter of public safety."

The chief said the boy's mother refers to the juvenile system as "the devil's playground because kids are not seeing consequences and, in her words, they're doing this for entertainment and not being held accountable."

O'Hara said police will sometimes refer troubled children to child protective services, but said that was not appropriate in this particular case. "This is not an issue of the parent being neglectful," he said.

O'Hara and Lt. Kelly O'Rourke, who oversees MPD's juvenile division, bemoaned the lack of suitable placement options for youths, where they can be safely detained while undergoing mental health evaluations and intensive treatment.

"It's a loophole in the system," O'Rourke said. "The kids are bankrupting the system by continuing to complete more and more crimes while they're waiting for these providers to reach them out in the environment."

In the school playground incident, the boy drove the car on the grass and sidewalk between the school and the playground, where the kindergartners were enjoying a sunny day, according to police.

Surveillance video released Friday by police shows school staff frantically trying to move children off the playground and out of harm's way as the car buzzes close by multiple times. The boy's head is barely visible just above the bottom of the driver's side window of the 2013 Hyundai, a model that's been a favorite of thieves for several years.

O'Hara said in a statement that the 10-year-old's family is cooperating with police and has asked for help to keep the boy or anyone else from being injured or killed.

"It is unfathomable that a 10-year-old boy has been involved in this level of criminal activity without effective intervention," O'Hara's statement read. "Prison is not an acceptable option for a 10-year-old boy. But the adults who can stop this behavior going forward must act now to help this child and his family.

"This is only one example of the revolving door we're dealing with — arresting and rearresting the same juveniles for auto theft and other violent crimes. This is a complex issue, and we need every entity involved in intervention to come together immediately to establish short- and long-term solutions."

Later Friday, the Hennepin County Attorney's Office said in a statement that the boy has been charged "because of the very significant safety implications both for this child and the broader community."

While the statement from County Attorney Mary Moriarty's office announcing the charges in juvenile court said the law prevents prosecutors from saying more about this case, a person, including a child, cannot be prosecuted if they are not capable of understanding the legal proceedings or assisting their lawyer in their defense. A court-appointed psychologist makes a recommendation on competency to a judge, and the judge makes the decision. If a child is found not competent by the court, the case must be dismissed or suspended, and the child must be released from custody.

"We are facing an urgent crisis in our community related to a small group of children who are not competent to stand trial in the juvenile justice system, but who cannot safely be at home," the statement continued. "We are actively engaged with law enforcement, as well as county and state partners, about the critical need for safe and appropriate out-of-home placements for children with these complex needs who require specialized care. We cannot charge or prosecute our way out of this crisis.

"What we need is clear: residential placements with varying levels of security in our community that are resourced and staffed to be able to accept and successfully treat our youth with complex needs. And we need urgent and immediate action to address this issue now."