Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara, at lectern, along with Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt, Park Police Chief Jason Ohotto, Minneapolis Parks and Recreation Board president Al Bangoura and police command staff members discuss the safety plan for the July 4 holiday on Wednesday at Boom Island Park. (Andy Mannix)

More than two dozen people were arrested at midnight Friday in Minneapolis as groups of young adults in Dinkytown began shooting fireworks at police officers, civilians and their cars following July 4th celebrations, although no one was seriously injured in a night that saw fewer melees and less gun violence than previous years.

From midnight to 3 a.m., Minneapolis police arrested 30 people, seized dozens of illegal fireworks and issued five citations. Most will be charged with felony rioting, but those who deliberately targeted people will be charged with felony assault, said Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara. That number is likely to increase as other agencies dispatched across the city finalize reports.

“We understand it’s the 4th of July, some people are going to shoot off fireworks,” O’Hara said. “We’re most concerned about this really, really dangerous — and just stupid – behavior of shooting them at people.”

Of those arrested, 27 were adults and eight were juveniles; ages ranged from 15 to 23. According to police, 28 were not from Minneapolis, and five of them carried out-of-state licenses from Kansas, Massachusetts and Maine.

“It’s dangerous to the people that are coming, the kids that are coming to watch this stuff — it’s dangerous for everyone,” O’Hara said. “It’s ridiculous that our residents and other people visiting our town have to deal with this egregious behavior.”

Police say much of the crowds can be traced to social media “pop-up” invitations, posts encouraging people to come to Minneapolis and cause disturbances.

Unlike in previous years, police saw no gun violence. There were four shootings on July 4th last year, along with multiple disturbances throughout the city, and seven people were shot on Boom Island in 2022.

“It’s not as bad as last year and the problems we’ve been seeing are over here in Dinkytown on the east side of the river,” O’Hara said.

In preparation for potential violence on July 4th, police ramped up security efforts and closed down roads. The department deployed an additional 200 officers this year, and were aided by 50 Minnesota State Patrol troopers, Minneapolis Parks Police and University of Minnesota Police. Police say an increased presence will continue over the weekend for Taste of Minnesota.