Minnesota sheriff warns residents against firing warning shots after recent incidents

After a "handful" of recent incidents, the sheriff in Benton County, Minnesota is warning residents that it's a bad idea to fire a warning shot.

In a message posted to Facebook on Monday, Sheriff Troy Heck says deputies have responded to several incidents recently where homeowners have fired warning shots when they suspected a prowler was on their property, including an incident just this past weekend.

The sheriff says not only is firing warning shots potentially dangerous, but it is also illegal.

"From a safety perspective, this is an extraordinarily bad idea," the post reads. "Bullets fired at the ground can ricochet or strike unintended targets. Bullets fired into the air eventually land somewhere. From a legal perspective, firing warning shots could result in the person firing the gun receiving criminal charges."

Jury begins deliberations at Kyle Rittenhouse murder trial

The jury began deliberating Tuesday at the murder trial of Kyle Rittenhouse after listening to dueling portrayals of him as a “wannabe soldier” who went looking for the trouble, or a concerned citizen who came under attack while trying to protect property.

The case went to the anonymous, 12-member jury after Rittenhouse himself, in a highly unusual move, was allowed by the judge to draw the slips of paper from a raffle drum that determined which of the 18 people who sat in judgment during the trial would decide his fate and which ones would be dismissed as alternates.

Rittenhouse, 18, faces life in prison if convicted as charged for using a AR-style semi-automatic rifle to kill two men and wound a third during a night of protests against racial injustice in Kenosha in the summer of 2020. The former police youth cadet is white, as were those he shot.

The resulting jury appeared to be overwhelmingly white.

Fist sculpture knocked down after crash near George Floyd Square in Minneapolis

A crash Friday morning along 38th Street in Minneapolis knocked down a sculpture erected to honor the life of George Floyd.

The fist sculpture that stood along 38th Street, just east of Chicago Avenue and the heart of George Floyd Square was struck by a driver sometime after 10 a.m.

Police say the crash doesn't appear to be an intentional act. They say the driver was suffering from an overdose when he crashed into the monument. He was revived with Narcan but his condition is unknown.

FOX 9 crews at the scene saw volunteers and city workers move to pick up pieces left behind from the crash. The caretakers told our reporter that the fist, platform, and planters around the sculpture were smashed up from the crash. They say they rushed to the scene to help preserve the art.

Venomous sharks found in London's Thames river

 London's famous river is more exciting than we thought. Seahorses, eels, seals -- and venomous sharks -- have all been discovered in the Thames, the results of a "health check" have shown.

A survey by the Zoological Society of London (ZSL) revealed "positive news" for wildlife, and ecosystem recovery, the society said Wednesday

Back in 1957, the capital city's river was declared "biologically dead."

But now, surprising creatures, like sharks including tope, starry smooth-hound and spurdog -- a slender fish measuring some 23 inches and covered in venomous spines -- have been found.

Minneapolis police ballot question rejected by voters

Minneapolis voters struck down a proposed charter amendment that would have eliminated the city’s police department and replaced it with a public safety agency.

57 percent of voters voted "no" on a ballot question that asked if the city charter should be amended to remove the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a Department of Public Safety. The proposed charter amendment would have eliminated the minimum police staffing requirement as well as the position of police chief.

The charter amendment was drafted in response to calls to defund or dismantle the police department following the murder of George Floyd in May 2020. It has received national attention and was fought in the courts. Millions of dollars were raised and spent by both supporters and opponents of the proposed charter amendment leading up to Election Day.