**Theryl and Grindle Dugas own a home two blocks from 36th and Penn. They sit on their bed, near a window where a stray bullet came and almost hit Grindle.**

Story and photos by Azhae’la Hanson Reporter

Grindle and Theryl Dugas were asleep when they awoke to sudden, rapid metallic pops echoing in all directions. The two put their bodies on the floor, scared, and staring into the dark as the bullets cut through the air outside their home.

After the noise subsided, they were grateful that they were unharmed. That’s when they saw dust and the drywall crumbling away near the windowsill — one foot from Grindle's head.

“If I had sat up, I would have been hit,” Grindle Dugas said.”

Since that night, two months after purchasing their home in the Cleveland neighborhood, they’ve looked over their shoulders.

Some built tall fences, kept their windows closed, and placed cameras in every corner of the house.

The Dugas’s are part of a group of scared neighbors grappling with the everyday reality of living near the intersection of 36th and Penn Ave N.

Residents have reached out to their councilwoman, the police, and neighborhood associations. Everyone tells them the same thing: We’re working on it.

**Stacey Henderson points to a bullet hole in the lawn chair that she usually sits in in her backyard. She has several bullets lodged in her home.**

“I'm a single woman here,” said Stacey Henderson, who purchased a firearm for protection. “I don't want it to end up where I am hurt or have to hurt someone just to feel safe, and that's what I keep telling these people in position, that I don't want to be a statistic.”

Stray bullets, a drug epidemic, and what residents are calling a passive police department plague the 36th and Penn corridor. A large pink cross in front of the Quick Stop market at the intersection is a memorial to Aniya Allen, a 6-year-old girl killed by a stray bullet.

Residents say police aren’t effective, and violence intervention programs aren't enough. One resident has barricaded their garden-level apartment windows. Others say they feel trapped in their homes. Garbage, including used needles, is piling up around their properties.

**The memorial for 6-year-old Aniya Allen sits at the corner of 36th and Penn outside of the Quick Stop corner store. Aniya was killed by a stray bullet in 2021, and her case is still unsolved.**

In March, the City Council voted on violence prevention contracts for on-the-street peace groups. The council excluded this part of the city, leaving the neighborhood without community intervention.

The Rev. Jerry McAfee was known for deploying his violence interrupters, 21 Days of Peace, into the Cleveland neighborhood and stationing them outside the Quick Stop, a known hotspot for criminal activity. However, the funding was not renewed after a confrontation with the City Council in February.

“I'll be coming soon with a way to figure out 35th and Penn to get on it. It needs to be covered,” Ward 4 City Council Member Latrisha Vetaw said at a meeting. “We’re looking at developing smaller contracts (for organizations) with very specific services for people.”

During a rally held earlier in April to support McAfee, his team said it would remain in the neighborhood.

“Money doesn't stop us, they don't stop us,” said Kessa Ford, Director of Operations at 21 Days of Peace. “We never got here doing that. They put us out on the street, but we’re already there doing the work.” McAfee could not be reached for comment.

**Supporters of the Rev.Jerry McAfee held a rally in praise of his work on the Northside. Faith Allen said a prayer before the start of the rally.**

Earlier this year, MPD released new data showing crime at a 10-year low in North Minneapolis. Fourth precinct inspector Charlie Adams said this is because MPD and organizations like 21 Days of Peace can work together in the midst of an officer shortage.

“It was a collective operation, that's why the numbers went down,” Adams said. “It wasn't one individual, it wasn't the police doing everything, but community organizations, and he (McAfee) was a very big part of that.”

Even with the combined efforts in the area, residents say they see little progress.

A North News reporter watched as a group broke into a vacant house recently in April. A neighbor called the police, and some 10 minutes later, a squad car rolled past the property and did not stop. Trash is piled high in alleys, drug use is out in the open, and people can be seen ducking in and out of condemned apartments.

**Behind the apartments on 36th and Penn, where neighbors report drug use is out in the open, several used needles were visible amid the garbage in the alley.**

“When we call, they don’t answer,” several neighbors said about the police. Henderson said McAfee showed up at her door after multiple attempted break-ins.

She says the organization gave her some comfort, but with the city not renewing the program’s contract, she’s worried her last sense of safety will be taken away.

Drew Edwards said the problems in these blocks are caused by neglect and a lack of investment in the area. After a decade of living near 35th and Penn, a recent home invasion was the last straw. He plans on moving soon.

Henderson has lived in her home for three decades on a corner near the Dugas’s. She came home one day to a bullet hole in her favorite lawn chair. There are bullets lodged in her home from over the years, including in her living room wall. She zip-ties her yard fence and struggles with PTSD from her garage constantly being broken into.

“I feel like a prisoner in my own home,” Henderson said. “We all do,” Theryl Dugas added.

The two frequently check in with each other and neighbors in the area, forming an unofficial neighborhood watch.

“We know the police aren’t doing anything, and these groups don't do much, " Theryl Dugas said. “I mean, their presence is okay for two hours. But when they leave, it’s right back to the way it was.”

A neighborhood under a cloud of violence calls for help and waits