Law enforcement arrested a teenager who's accused of hosting dozens of other young people at a boozy birthday party at a Maple Grove Airbnb, where a raid turned up numerous loaded high-powered guns hidden around the property.
Ramsey County sheriff's deputies traveled west Saturday night and broke up the bash on a cul-de-sac in the 10700 block of N. 108th Avenue, where partiers ranging in age from 15 to 21 were whooping it up.
The 17-year-old boy "went from five-star Airbnb accommodations to the county jail," while the others were sent on their way, a statement Monday from the Sheriff's Office read.
The teen had not been charged as of Monday afternoon in connection with the party where the guns and alcohol were present. However, he was charged Monday in a juvenile petition with using credit cards Friday that he stole from a Shoreview man's pickup truck, an alleged crime that led investigators to the party that violated Airbnb's ban on such gatherings.
The petition identifies the teenager, but the Star Tribune generally does not name juveniles who are charged with crimes.
Airbnb spokesman Aaron Swor told the Star Tribune late Monday afternoon that "unauthorized and disruptive parties are banned on Airbnb, and our safety team has removed the booking guest from the platform. We are supporting our host ... and we stand ready to assist the Ramsey County Sheriff's Office as they investigate."
According to the Sheriff's Office and the credit card allegations:
The investigative trail started in Shoreview, where the man's stolen credit cards were used by the teenager at a nearby Target; hundreds of dollars in charges were made that same day. Deputies tied the Shoreview charges to a similar crime in Lino Lakes, and that quickly led them to the Maple Grove short-term rental.
Deputies went to the home and found more than 50 people inside, despite the rental agreement allowing no more than 10.
"That's when things took a disturbing and dangerous turn," the Sheriff's Office statement continued.
The deputies found 11 — all loaded — guns hidden in plants, under board games, on top of a furnace, inside unfinished walls and tucked in handbags.
Several of the illegally possessed guns were equipped with auto-sears, small devices that convert semi-automatic pistols into fully automatic firearms capable of unleashing dozens of rounds in a few seconds.
"Who brought the guns to the party?" the Sheriff's Office statement continued. "We're working to answer that question.
"But one thing we know for sure is that we never know where a case will lead. And in this case, it led to the arrest of a credit card thief and the recovery of 11 illegally possessed handguns equipped with auto-sears."
The number of parties at Airbnb locations increased during the COVID-19 pandemic, the company said, as people moved gatherings from bars and clubs to rented homes.
In 2019, a shooting at a party at an Airbnb in the Bay Area of California left people dead. Airbnb imposed a temporary ban on parties in August 2020 and made it permanent in June 2022.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
