A 10-year-old has been arrested for allegedly driving a stolen car around a crowded school playground.
Minneapolis police said the incident happened on Sept 20 at the Nellie Stone Johnson School in the north of the city.
It was caught on CCTV and the footage shows a black vehicle driving back and forth near the playground apparatus, where more than a dozen children were running and playing.
Police said the playground was “crowded” at the time, and a spokesman added: “Fortunately, no children on the playground were struck by the driver.”
The 10-year-old boy was taken to the Hennepin county juvenile detention centre on Thursday.
It was at least the boy’s third arrest, police said, and he is a suspect in a dozen cases ranging from auto theft to robbery and assault with a dangerous weapon.
“It is unfathomable that a 10-year-old boy has been involved in this level of criminal activity without effective intervention,” said Brian O’Hara, the police chief.
“Prison is not an acceptable option for a 10-year-old boy. But the adults who can stop this behaviour going forward must act now to help this child and his family.”
A police spokesman added that the boy’s family members are cooperating and “have asked for help to keep their son or anyone else from being injured or killed”.
