23 October 2023
A stolen ATM card from Shoreview led Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies to a suspect who was celebrating his 17th birthday at a house party in Maple Grove, where deputies said they found 11 handguns as they cleared the home.
Seven of the guns had a “switch,” which is put on a handgun to make it fully automatic, said Undersheriff Mike Martin on Monday. They “convert regular handguns into machine guns capable of firing 33 rounds of automatic fire in less than two seconds,” the sheriff’s office wrote on its Live on Patrol Facebook page.
Deputies tracked the teen to a party on 108th Avenue near Zachary Lane. The house had been rented through Airbnb, though the person who rented the home wasn’t present.
The Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office said it found 11 guns in a house being rented for a teen’s birthday party in Maple Grove on Oct. 21, 2023. (Courtesy of the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office Live on Patrol)
The sheriff’s office dubbed the situation: “AIRBNB becomes dangerous MACHINEGUNBNB.”
The home’s owner requested the party be shut down because the rental agreement limited use to 10 people.
Law enforcement asked the 50+ people attending, ages 15 to 21, to leave the house. When clearing the home, they found the 11 guns in backpacks and purses, unfinished walls, and behind TVs and couches. One was hidden in a “Heads Up” game box and another in a McDonald’s bag on the kitchen counter, the sheriff’s office said.
“This is especially concerning to us because several of the party attendees are part of a ‘group’ that has enemies — or as they call them ‘opps’,” a reference to the opposition, the sheriff’s office wrote.
The Ramsey County attorney’s office charged the 17-year-old with financial transaction fraud. Law enforcement is continuing to investigate the guns, including where they came from.
“Unauthorized and disruptive parties are banned on Airbnb, and our safety team has removed the booking guest from the platform,” an Airbnb spokesperson said in a statement Monday. “We are supporting our host … and we stand ready to assist the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office as they investigate.”
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