The Cedar Avenue “Gas Explosion” Revisited
28th September 2018
The incident occurred in a mostly Somali neighborhood known as “Little Mogadishu”, which is centered around Cedar Avenue near the University of Minnesota Law School. Early that morning a massive explosion blew out the windows on the second floor at 514 S. Cedar Avenue, above the Otanga Grocery. An intense fire that followed the explosion eventually consumed the interior of the three-story structure.
The building had been inhabited by Somali Muslims, the businesses there had been patronized by Somali Muslims, and it was next door to a mosque. After having seen photos and videos of numerous gas explosions, it was obvious to me that this was no gas explosion. For the first 24 hours the Minneapolis fire chief said the cause of the explosion was unknown. However, the next morning, as soon as the FBI arrived at the scene, the story changed: the explosion was caused by a natural gas leak. Despite the fact that there had been no investigation of the site, despite the insistence by the gas company that there had been no leaks whatsoever in the area, a “gas leak” was the fire chief’s story, and he stuck to it doggedly. And as soon as the fire was fully extinguished and the last body had been removed from the scene, the city ordered the remains of the building to be demolished, before any forensic investigation of the site could be undertaken.
The whole thing smelled fishy back then, and it still smells fishy. We still don’t have any official report on what really happened. However, thanks to the patient efforts of Judicial Watch, we know a lot more than we did in January 2014.