MINNEAPOLIS — The crime ended with Abdirizak Bihi's car next to a hotel at 7 Corners, stuck on a "No Parking" sign and tree it flattened, and with one teenage suspect in the hospital.
It started with the Somali community leader, who organizes job training for youth, eating soup in his car the parking lot of the Seward Co-op when a group of teens asked him to roll down his window.
Bihi instinctively thought they needed help. What they said next caught him off-guard.
"They said, 'We are here to collect.' And I said, 'Collect what?' They said, 'Your car,'" Bihi said.
They sprayed pepper spray in his face and pulled him out of the car in the rain, all at 4 oclock in the afternoon on Labor Day.
"What really scared me is they didn't look like people who are robbing someone. They felt very comfortable and confident. And they were not rushing. They were taking their time. And that's scary," Bihi said.
Bihi coincidentally spent the afternoon talking with his family about the recent rise in carjackings in the Twin Cities, often involving juveniles.
He hopes more families have the same conversation now.
"I have a strong message for parents. We should know. I'm a parent myself of teenagers. We should know where our kids are," Bihi said. "To these kids, it's unfortunate. They should be starting school today. They shouldn't be hiding from law enforcement today. They shouldn't be in jail."
Bihi said the incident will in no way stop his work with teens. He's shaken up but not hurt. And wants everyone to know the carjacking trend is a real problem.
"And that has to stop," he said.