Star Tribune
One dead after ‘brazen’ gunfire outside Target store in St. Paul
One man is dead following what police called a “brazen” shooting in a St. Paul Target parking lot Thursday morning.
The shooting occurred shortly before 10 a.m. at the Target in the 1700 block of Suburban Avenue, near the White Bear Avenue exit from Interstate 94. The victim, was driven to nearby St. Paul Fire Station 24 where medics rendered aid, but he was pronounced dead in the station’s driveway. An SUV with a shattered rear window was parked there behind crime scene tape, and a body lying next to the vehicle was removed from the scene by the medical examiner at 11:40 a.m.
Investigators are looking into what led to the shooting, Sgt. Mike Ernster said, adding, “We’re early on in this investigation, we’re still trying to piece together what occurred.”
Scenes at both the fire station and the Target parking lot were secured by police, Ernster said, while the witness who drove the victim to the fire station is speaking with investigators. There were other witnesses to the shooting, he said. No arrests have been announced.
“It’s very brazen, the fact that somebody would engage in a shooting in the middle of a Target parking lot at 10 a.m. on a Thursday is beyond anybody’s normal thought pattern,” he said. “The fact that people are choosing to use weapons possibly to solve differences or whatever they’re doing is crazy.”
Lorena, a witness who asked that her last name not be used, said she was taking her husband to work at a Popeye’s restaurant near Fire Station 24 when she was startled by noise and activity.
“Out of nowhere, I pulled around this corner and you see a whole bunch of squad cars pull up, rush right in the middle of the [driveway], they already had their doors open,” she said, describing seeing a barricade of vehicles around a car with a person taken out who appeared to be dead.
The Target has temporarily closed, while customers and employees were let out.
“Following a fatal shooting in the parking lot of our East Saint Paul store this morning, we can confirm that all other guests and team members are safe. Our team immediately called 911 and secured the store,” Target spokesperson Joe Unger said in a statement. “The Saint Paul Police Department is on-site, and the store will be closed for the remainder of the day as they investigate. Target will provide law enforcement with any information needed, and we will refer additional questions to them at this time.”
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner will identify the victim. It is the city’s ninth homicide of 2023. Ernster said any potential witnesses are urged to contact police at 651-266-5650.
Return to www.startribune.com for updates on this developing story.
“You’ve got to be able to say, ‘Here’s how much we want to spend, and here’s what we want the impact to be,’” Carter said.
During the council meeting, Johnson, the Ward 7 council member, alluded to those statements, saying people have used such language to try to discredit women in leadership, especially young women. This is the first budget from St. Paul’s new all-women council.
Staff writer James Walsh contributed to this report.
After months of maintenance problems and safety concerns in downtown St. Paul’s Lowry Apartments, city officials condemned the building, forcing dozens of tenants to abruptly relocate to hotels this week.
On Monday afternoon, city staff responded to a plumbing leak in the 11-story building at 345 Wabasha St. N. Officials reported significant damage and signs of vandalism, including copper wire theft that left electrical systems exposed. The leak also raised concerns about mold.
To make repairs, the building’s water must be shut off — a move that would leave tenants without boiler heat and fire sprinklers, Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher said in a Tuesday email to state Rep. Maria Isa Pérez-Vega and City Council Member Rebecca Noecker, who represent the area.
After determining heat and water could not be restored quickly, Tincher wrote: “There was no other option than to conclude the building was not safe for residents to stay.”
Property manager Halverson and Blaiser Group (HBG) agreed to provide alternative housing for tenants for up to 30 days, Tincher said. City staff worked with Ramsey County’s Housing Stability team and Metro Transit to help 71 residents pack and move.
Before then, the building belonged to downtown St. Paul’s largest property owner, Madison Equities. After the January death of the company’s founder and longtime principal, Jim Crockarell, the dire state of the group’s real estate portfolio became apparent.
The Lowry Apartments, the sole property with a high concentration of low-income housing, quickly became the most troubled. Residents reported frequent break-ins, pest infestations, inoperable elevators and more, to no avail.
Star Tribune
Metro Transit allocated $12 million to boost security, cleanliness on Twin Cities light rail and buses
They will be soon. With more money to spend, Metro Transit plans to bring on 40 more this year. With their ranks growing, TRIP agents, clad in blue, have recently started covering the Metro C and D rapid transit lines between Brooklyn Center and downtown Minneapolis.
The big investment in public safety initiatives comes as Metro Transit is seeing an uptick in ridership that plunged dramatically during the COVID-19 pandemic and has been slow to recover. This year ridership has been a bright spot, the agency said.
Through October, the agency has provided 40.1 million rides, up 7% compared with the first 10 months of 2023. In September, the agency saw its highest monthly ridership in four years, averaging nearly 157,000 rides on weekdays, agency data shows.
At the same time, crime is down 8.4% during the first three quarters of 2024 compared to the same time period last year, according to Metro Transit Interim Police Chief Joe Dotseth. However, problems still persist.
On Nov. 29, Sharif Darryl Walker-El, Jr., 33, was fatally shot on a Green Line train in St. Paul. Just a week earlier, a woman was shot in the leg while on the train and taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries. Earlier this year, a robbery attempt on the Green Line in St. Paul left a passenger shot and wounded.
“Our officers are spending time on the system and sending a clear message to everyone: Crime will not be tolerated on transit,” Dotseth said. “And we will work to ensure those commit those crimes are held accountable.”
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