Minneapolis Activist Whose Granddaughter Was Shot: 'We Need Police'

A Minneapolis man whose six-year-old granddaughter was killed by a stray bullet inside her mom’s car is reportedly rejecting calls to defund the police.

“K.G. Wilson’s granddaughter, Aniya Allen, was shot in the head as she and her mother were believed to have been caught in the crossfire between rival gangs,” Fox News reported Friday.

The 53-year-old anti-violence activist who has worked to get children off the streets and help families affected by violence for about two decades, said Thursday defunding the police “is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard.”

“I can tell you this, if I was a criminal, I would support it,” he noted, adding, “I would love it.”

Since then, he has been urging citizens with information regarding the shooters in the three cases to come forward, adding he was raising his granddaughter to mirror his own actions.

“I know she was one of the future leaders – because I was raising her that way,” he explained.

In January, CBS Minnesota reported statistics showed crime was trending upward in Minneapolis.

“Recent data shows that the number people wounded by gunshots is up 250% from last year (Jan. 1 to Jan. 18),” the outlet stated.

In response to the recent shootings, Wilson said, “We need police. We need the sheriff. Send in the National Guard into some places….We had a riot going on here long before the riots.”

“That’s why I got one murdered grandchild and I’m at the hospital right now for two families of two children who’ve been shot,” he continued.

In February, the Minneapolis City Council voted to spend $6.4 million to hire dozens of police officers as some council members and activists worked to replace the department.

“The council voted unanimously on Friday to approve the additional funding, which was requested by police. The department says it only has 638 officers available to work, roughly 200 fewer than usual,” the Associated Press (AP) reported.