DULUTH — Two juveniles have been arrested in connection with two recent acts of gun violence, including a shooting Wednesday night in Canal Park.
The Duluth Police Department said it arrested the 15- and 17-year-old boys, both Duluth residents, at approximately 1:30 p.m. Thursday.
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The latest incident occurred just before 9:30 p.m. near the Green Mill restaurant on South Lake Avenue, prompting a roughly hourlong closure of the area. Police said one person suffered a gunshot wound to the lower leg.
The boys were also reportedly involved in a gunfire incident on the 400 block of East Seventh Street on Saturday evening. Police Chief Mike Tusken said at a Wednesday news conference that there was fight aboard a Duluth Transit Authority bus and that shots were fired when the parties disembarked at that location.
The Canal Park incident came mere hours after Tusken assembled the local media to address the city's recent spate of gun violence, including the DTA incident.
Tusken said prior to Wednesday's shooting that the department had responded to six calls related to gunfire in June alone, with a total of 20 such incidents so far this year. That's roughly the average total for an entire year, though on pace with the record-setting 2020, which saw 41 shootings or shots-fired reports.
The police department did not give any further details on how the two boys were involved in each incident. They were taken to the Arrowhead Juvenile Center and are awaiting charges from the St. Louis County Attorney's Office.
Tusken noted Wednesday that gun crimes often involve retaliation, with the same handful of individuals often perpetrating or being targeted.
This story was updated at 4:28 p.m. June 23 with additional information about the people involved in the shooting. It was originally posted at 11:04 p.m. June 22.
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