Nearly a week after sailing to re-election, Minneapolis Council Member Jamal Osman says he was carjacked Monday by two young people.
In a social media post, Osman wrote that around 8 p.m. Monday, he was carjacked while making a phone call in his parked vehicle near Lake Street and Portland Avenue, the southern edge of the area he represents.
He wrote that earlier that night, another person with a child was reportedly carjacked by the same suspects, which police described to him as “two youths.”
“My heart goes out to them,” he wrote. “No one should have to experience this kind of trauma in our city.”
Shortly after midnight Tuesday, he posted that he was “safe and home with my family in Phillips West.” He thanked the Minneapolis police for their quick response and thanked Mayor Jacob Frey and Police Chief Brian O’Hara for their “outreach.”
“This incident is another reminder of the work ahead to keep all of our communities safe,” he wrote.
Osman was easily re-elected Nov. 4 to a four-year term on the council representing Ward 6, which is south and east of downtown. He first took office in 2020.
Minneapolis police spokesman Garrett Parten confirmed there were two pursuits related to carjackings Monday and arrests were made. No other details were immediately released.
The apparent carjacking spree began on the city’s North Side, where a woman and her child were robbed of their Subaru near 7th and Humboldt around 5:15 p.m., according to a source with knowledge of the investigation.
A few hours later, two young men approached Osman’s parked Volkswagen in south Minneapolis demanding the vehicle. One suspect intimated a handgun, while another threatened the use of mace, the source said.
The assailants drove off in his car, which was recovered by police around 10:30 p.m.
