Frequently throughout 2025, space in these pages will be given to organizations working to end racial injustice across the state. We hope that these reflections spark policy changes for a more equitable Minnesota. This week’s guest contributor is Shanasha Whitson, founder of Mothers Against Gun Violence (MAG).
There is a club that no one asks to join — yet every day, mothers, fathers, and loved ones are being forced into it. There are no perks, points, free coffees or rewards. This club comes only with heartbreak: stomachaches, migraines, numbness, anger, and the crushing weight of helplessness. It brings anxiety, fear, and the isolating sense that no one else can truly understand.
I know, because I’m in this club.
On May 28, I sat down with Tatiana Kilgore, the mother of 19-year-old Amarie Alowonle. Amarie was shot in the head on May 4, 2025, while at Sanborn Park in Robbinsdale. She was not in a gang. She was not the intended target. She was an innocent bystander, and as of today, no arrests have been made in her case.
Tatiana is now a member of this heartbreaking club, alongside parents like those of Trinity Ottoson-Smith. While Trinity’s killer, Dpree Robinson, was sentenced to over 37 years in prison, Amarie’s killer remains free.
“Minneapolis, we have a problem, and it cost my daughter her life,” Kilgore told me. “Our community is being flooded with illegal weapons, switches that turn handguns into fully automatic killing machines. Children are walking around with military-grade firepower. What has been the response of law enforcement? What about our elected officials?
“Amarie wasn’t just the victim of a stray bullet. She was the victim of a failed system, one that refuses to address the root causes of gun violence and the communities left reeling in its wake.”
We demand answers. We demand accountability. We demand justice.
To the police department: Help us find Amarie’s killer. To elected officials: Declare switches a public crisis and outlaw them city by city. To the media: Shine a light on these stories — our children are not disposable. To community leaders: Stand with us. Demand action.
Amarie’s life mattered. She had dreams, value, and a future.
We’re calling on city leaders, law enforcement, and the media to publicly address this case. We are also urging national attention on the spread of “switches” — devices that make handguns fully automatic — and the devastating lack of urgency in stopping them.
We will not rest. We will not be silent. We will not stop until there is justice for Mari.
#JusticeForMari
#MinneapolisDoBetter
#StopTheSwitches
#ProtectOurChildren
#HoldTheShooterAccountable
Now let’s talk about the broader problem.
In connection with the killing of Trinity Ottoson-Smith, 26-year-old William Burton faces federal charges for illegally purchasing 41 handguns between November 2019 and August 2020. By April 2025, at least 17 of those guns had been recovered by police in connection with criminal activity. One of those firearms was used in the fatal shooting of 6-year-old Aniya Allen.
That leaves 24 guns unaccounted for, still out there. How many more children have to die before we act?
While specific data on how many children have been lost to gun violence in North Minneapolis between 2020 and 2025 is limited, organizations like the Gun Violence Archive can offer broad insights. But we need local data. We need transparency. And most of all, we need solutions.
So what can we do?
We teach our children healthier ways to resolve conflict. We follow the lead of cities like Baltimore, where Mayor Brandon Scott has led a historic drop in crime. Homicides are down 22%, nonfatal shootings down 19%, and juvenile homicide victims down 71% as of mid-2025.
We remove drugs from our communities and invest in real economic opportunities. We create pathways that lead away from violence through mental health access, after-school programs, trauma-informed care, and education.
We can heal. We can protect our youth. But only if we act.
There are many community-based programs across the Twin Cities offering support for families and youth. Let’s shut “The Club” down, permanently.
Shanasha Whitson is the founder of Mothers Against Gun Violence (MAG). For more information, contact cpc@cpcmn.org or call 612-481-3577.