Minneapolis police are bringing in outside help as they try to temper violence that killed four people this weekend alone, including a college senior who was out celebrating graduation.

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Mayor Jacob Frey said the city has asked state and federal agencies for assistance, citing the city’s shortage of officers. . . .

The weekend’s victims include two men believed to have been struck by gunfire on the North Side and two men killed in a mass downtown shooting: one of the suspected gunmen and the student, whose family said was “an innocent bystander.”

The increase in violence has tested the commitment of city leaders who unanimously promised to transform policing and public safety in the wake of George Floyd’s death — but are deeply divided about how to proceed.

While debates about policing have proved to be divisive within City Hall, some of the victims’ relatives said they hope to remove politics from the discussion. . . .

University of St. Thomas student Charlie Johnson went out with friends on Friday night to celebrate their graduation the next day.

Just before 2 a.m. Saturday, gunfire erupted along N. 1st Avenue between 3rd and 4th streets downtown.

Johnson and his friends were walking home when they got hit by stray gunfire, his father, Greg Johnson, said Sunday. A close friend stayed nearby and tried to provide “aid and comfort.” . . .

Greg Johnson asked people to say his son’s name and to work toward ending gun violence.

“No politics please,” he wrote, “just love and compassion for each other as Charlie had for all of us. I AM CHARLIE!”

Police said shots erupted at bar closing time when two men got into a “verbal confrontation” on the crowded sidewalk. In addition to the two killed, eight people were injured by the gunfire.

The other suspected shooter, a Bloomington man, 23, was arrested and booked on suspicion of murder. He had not been charged as of Sunday evening.  . . .

Hours before the mass shooting, police responding to a ShotSpotter activation in the city’s Jordan neighborhood about 8:40 p.m. found a car-crash victim with gunshot wounds. The man, whose name has not been released, died a short time later.

That same night, there was a nonfatal shooting at the CC Club in south Minneapolis.

Sunday, too, brought another death. Police suspect a man, whose name has not been released, was shot in the city’s Hawthorne neighborhood. As people tried to rush him to the hospital to get treatment for his wounds, the car flipped, police said. . . .

Excluding that case, the city has had 31 homicides so far this year. . . .

On Sunday afternoon, relatives of the children gathered outside City Hall for an emotional news conference announcing a reward for information leading to arrests and convictions in their cases.  . . . .

“We need more police officers. There is no doubt in my mind,” he said. Ottoson said the city needs need police reform because Black lives matter, but he believes it needs more police on the street, too.

“I’m praying for all of these families but, you know what, I’m praying for the next people too,” Ottoson said.

The surge in violence comes as the city is grappling with the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath of Floyd’s killing.

Nearly 200 Minneapolis police officers have left the department since Floyd’s death, including dozens who filed PTSD claims after the unrest. . . .

Some other elected officials have argued the emphasis on police staffing is misplaced and that an increase in officers doesn’t guarantee a decrease in violence.

Almost all of the city’s elected leaders have spoken about the importance of expanding mental health and violence prevention services, but they differ on whether police funding should be used to support that. . . .

Chief Medaria Arradondo provided few specifics about the shooting investigations Sunday, saying he didn’t want to jeopardize them.

Minneapolis police said they called in seven homicide detectives to work on the mass shooting case.

The city’s Office of Violence Prevention sent a “very small group,” including director Sasha Cotton, to work with families and bystanders, city spokeswoman Sarah McKenzie said. . . .

Frey said the city received help from state troopers Saturday night into Sunday and said the city is working with the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Arradondo said federal agencies also will help.

Victims’ families deserve information, the chief said, imploring people to call in tips on all the cases, including on the children’s shootings: “People have got to step up.” . . .

Share your prayers in the comments below for Minneapolis and other cities like this that are dealing with a shortage of police and extreme violence!

(Excerpt from The Star Tribune. Article by Liz Navratil and Mara Klecker. Photo Credit: Getty Images.)