9-year-old shot and killed while jumping on trampoline in gang-related drive-by shooting, suspect arrested months later

A 9-year-old girl was jumping on a friend’s trampoline when she was shot in May 2021. Months later, Minnesota police say they have arrested a suspect.

Trinity Ottoson-Smith was jumping in the backyard of a friend’s Minneapolis home when she was shot and injured, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. Ottoson-Smith died 12 days after the shooting.

Investigators said they believed the child was the unintended target of a gang-related drive-by shooting.

Police identified D’Pree Shareef Robinson, 19, as a suspect and he was arrested on Feb. 23 without incident, according to the bureau.

Investigators have not said what led them to believe Robinson was part of the child’s death.

“As we said during the Spotlight on Crime news conference last August, families deserve to know who did this to their children,” bureau Superintendent Drew Evans said. “We have worked diligently to achieve justice for Trinity and her family. This is the first st​ep toward achieving that justice.”

Ottoson-Smith’s mom created a GoFundMe page shortly after the child’s killing. She said that Trinity had plans to change the world and wanted to be a teacher.

“She loves making Tik Toks, doing art, doing makeup, playing Roblox with her friends, playing with her siblings, going on adventures, riding her bike, playing soft ball and basketball and doing gymnastics,” the page read.