Minn: spree of attacks on cyclists

[summer]

www.people.com/article/spree-attacks-minneapolis-cyclists-mackenzie-jensen


Mackenzie Jensen was riding his bicycle to work last Friday and never knew what hit him: Out of nowhere, a man drove towards him and threw a chunk of concrete at his head, smashing his eye, jaw and cheek and landing him in the hospital.



The 20-year-old, who now might have to delay his upcoming start of college, was just one of four bicyclists in Minneapolis targeted in a three-week spree by a male motorist seemingly intent on hurting random cyclists, police said.



The suspect is believed to possibly work in construction, as one victim noted seeing a yellow vest, police said. Cops believe he is driving a white SUV, possibly a Bronco or a pickup truck, with a topper on the back.





"When somebody maliciously hurts your child and had intent, it's the absolute worst feeling," Jensen's mother, Kristin Piper tells PEOPLE.



Her son, who suffered a broken jaw, dislocated cheekbone and five fractures in the bone under his eye after the Aug. 7 incident, will undergo a second surgery Thursday to repair the damage.



The series of attacks began July 20, when the assailant drove toward a bicyclist on the street and hurled a cement chunk at him, causing him to fall and break his collarbone, according to Minneapolis police.



Another cyclist was seriously injured on Aug. 4 when a man threw a concrete stone at him. He fell and was knocked unconscious, suffering "very serious injuries," Minneapolis police spokesman John Elder tells PEOPLE.



Then on Aug. 7, the same day Jensen was attacked, police say the man drove toward a woman in a car around 4 p.m. on a Minneapolis street and heaved a concrete chunk, which crashed through her windshield but didn't hurt her, Elder said.



About 20 minutes later, the man drove up to Jensen and another cyclist, launching chunks of concrete at them. The other cyclist was also hit but suffered only minor injuries, Elder said. Jensen was not wearing a bicycle helmet, his mother said, and there is no state law requiring one.



Attacks the Work of Lone 'Sick Individual'



Police are continuing to search for the perpetrator, whose motive is unknown, but Elder said, "we are under the belief that this is the work of one person."



Despite the rash of terrifying attacks, neither police nor bicycling advocates believe the assaults are part of a broader "us versus them" culture war with motorists in Minneapolis, a city known for being very bicycle friendly.



In fact, "relationships continue to improve" between the two groups, Ethan Fawley, executive director of the Minneapolis Bicycle Coalition, tells PEOPLE. "The narrative that there is extra conflict between people who drive and people who bicycle is very overstated."



Piper, calling the assault "senseless," said both she and Jensen, an avid cyclist who was riding his Fyxation fixed bike, agree. "It's a sick individual," she said. "I don't think there's anything brewing."



Cyclists and motorists peacefully co-exist for the most part, Elder said, though "at times there's angst between the two groups, but this is not common."



Jensen, whose jaw is wired shut and will have metal plates inserted in his face, is feeling "okay. He's not great," said Piper, who along with her wife has set up a GoFundMe page which so far has raised more than $22,800 to help cover medical costs. "That totally outweighs the bad," she said.



Still, Jensen, who was set to start classes at a community college in two weeks and is considering a career as a park ranger, may take this semester off to recover, Piper said.



"There is no one who deserved this less than Mackenzie," Brian Rieck, manager of Infinite Vapor Minnesota, where Jensen has been working about eight months, tells PEOPLE. "He's incredibly caring."



And he won't let the crime keep him from his love of cycling. Said his mother, "He will get back on his bike."

[elleblue]

Horrifying. I hope they catch the monster behind these attacks.

[Daria Morgandorffer]

Sadly I'm not surprised. My dad rides 15-100 miles per day through rural MI and has encountered some seriously awful people. After the most recent incident, he now rides armed.

[malibu]

This is nuts. I heard about it on our local (Mpls) radio station this morning. WTAF is wrong with people? I don't understand the anger and hatred that some people have to go around hurting people just going about their day.

I was planning a bike ride around the Minneapolis area this weekend. Not anymore.

[wise_rita]

Aug 13, 2015 14:48:45 GMT -5 Daria Morgandorffer said:

Sadly I'm not surprised. My dad rides 15-100 miles per day through rural MI and has encountered some seriously awful people. After the most recent incident, he now rides armed.

Holy shit, what happened?

Do I even want to know? I have shaky faith in humanity.

[darnkatz]

I am so fucking sick of people who hurt others for sport.

[Daria Morgandorffer]

Aug 13, 2015 18:34:26 GMT -5 wise_rita said:

Aug 13, 2015 14:48:45 GMT -5 Daria Morgandorffer said:

Sadly I'm not surprised. My dad rides 15-100 miles per day through rural MI and has encountered some seriously awful people. After the most recent incident, he now rides armed.

Holy shit, what happened?

Do I even want to know? I have shaky faith in humanity.

My Dad was riding home from work late at night on a back road and some drunk redneck purposefully swerved and slammed his brakes on in front of my dad, causing him to go into the ditch. Then, crazy redneck got his shotgun out of the car and told my dad that HE was a danger to the drivers on the road at night (you know, in full reflective gear) and should be taught a lesson. THANK GOD another car came by, interrupted the situation, and called the cops, because if he hadn't I can only guess what he had planned to do. 

Unfortunately it was not the first time that my Dad has had a weapon pulled on him while riding and minding his own business. The time before that, my dad was stopped to pick up beer cans on the side of the road (probably from these same assholes) and someone threw a hammer out the window at him while yelling something like "get off the road you hippy freak". 

My dad is an Airborne Ranger and a war veteran. He said he's seen more hostility for just riding his bike over the years than he did while invading a country. 

[penguingrrl]

Holy shit. How disturbing. I don't understand hatred of cyclists. They have as much right to be there as you do. Yes, it's annoying if you're running late and stuck behind one for a bit and can't pass, but the natural response to that is to push your area to make dedicated bike lanes/paths a priority.

[charminglife]

Aug 14, 2015 13:45:27 GMT -5 Daria Morgandorffer said:

My dad is an Airborne Ranger and a war veteran. He said he's seen more hostility for just riding his bike over the years than he did while invading a country. 

JHC.  I don't even know how to respond to that.

Biking is becoming more common where I live - the city started a bike share program and most people I've talked to are really unhappy about it for strange reasons: a) the bike stations take up potential street parking spots and b) bikers don't know the rules of the road.  I often see drivers tailgating or otherwise intimidating bikers who are (legally) using the roads so I'd argue that drivers don't know the rules of the road. It's really sad. 

[downtoearth]

This is disgusting. I hope they catch the guy and charge him with attempted murder!

As for Daria Morgandorffer - so sorry for your dad. What is wrong with people that they have so much aggression to just pull out on strangers?!?!

[Susie]

Ugh.  I've had things thrown at me (mostly soda bottles, I don't care to think about what they're full of) out on my bike in certain areas.  It sucks, but as gross as trucker bombs are, at least it's not concrete.  It's so sick though, I can't get my head around why people seem to find cyclists so enraging, or why it's such sport, or something else I can't even come up with, that they want to throw things at us?  I just can't with it.

This, however:

Jensen was not wearing a bicycle helmet, his mother said, and there is no state law requiring one.

The first part is plain stupid, and the second part is irrelevant.  I hope he starts wearing one when he gets back on his bike when this is all over with.

[emilyj]

What an asshole. I hope he gets caught and prosecuted.

I've had stuff thrown at me - mostly bottles of drinks (I hope they are drinks, at least), and one time someone through a McDonalds bag (full of wrappers) at me. It frightens me sometimes how much hate and rage some drivers show towards cyclists.

[meshaliuknits]

Goodness. Why? Why would someone do that? You don't know those people, how can you be that angry at someone you don't even know?

[summer]

I will never ever understand America's hostility against bikers. It invokes the rage usually reserved for the gays, the illegals, the Negroes, and womenfolk who don't comply to The Rules.