Star Tribune
St. Paul police release body camera footage of officers shooting armed Minneapolis murder suspect
St. Paul police have released body camera footage of the moment officers shot a man at a busy intersection who was later suspected of killing three people in Minneapolis.
The department released 20 minutes of footage from body and traffic cameras. That footage shows police approach 40-year-old Earl Bennett, who held a gun to his head while walking barefoot and shirtless along University Avenue just before 8 p.m. Oct. 28. Bennett is hospitalized and remains in police custody. Police tried to de-escalate the situation by asking Bennett to lower the weapon and firing less lethal projectiles at him. Four officers fired at Bennett when he pointed the gun at them.
Bennett was taken to Regions Hospital where he was listed in critical but stable condition.
Footage from Officer Chase Robinson’s body camera shows police first taking a report from civilians of a barefoot man with a gun, then encountering Bennett just a couple minutes later. He holds a gun to his head and appears to yell and point at officers and people passing by.
“Drop the gun!” they repeatedly yell while Bennett insists it’s not loaded. He stands in the intersection of Snelling and University as officers take cover and attempt to wave traffic out of the way of danger. At one point a bystander on a bicycle says he will take the weapon out of Bennett’s hands because “he ain’t got no bullets” while an officer says “Do not go over there” and pleads with him to let officers handle it.
”Drop the gun, get on the ground man, we want to help you!” officers say, while less lethal weapons are fired at him. “We don’t want to kill you, man, please just drop the gun!” A moment later, Bennett appears to point the gun at officers and more than a dozen gunshots rang out. A nearby witness yelled “Y’all did not have to do that!” before around a dozen officers approached to check Bennett, who collapsed to the ground near the metro train tracks.
In a statement after the shooting, police chief Axel Henry said: “Our city experienced another episode of gun violence last week. Our officers responded to one of the busiest intersections in our state for a person shooting a gun. Given the location, time of day, and number of motorists, light-rail users, and people on foot and bicycles in the area, I am thankful more people weren’t injured.”
Early returns were inconclusive in the Sixth Congressional District race pitting incumbent Rep. Tom Emmer, the No. 3 Republican in the U.S. House, against Democrat Jeanne Hendricks in a rematch Tuesday.
Emmer, the House Majority Whip, had a significant fundraising advantage over Hendricks heading into his battle for a sixth term. He raised more than $8 million compared to Hendricks, who raised less than six figures.
Emmer began rising through the Republican ranks after leading the National Republican Congressional Committee for four years, helping the GOP narrowly win back control of the House in 2022.
But Emmer’s ascension in the House was halted largely by former President Donald Trump, who along with his allies had a hand in sinking Emmer’s chances. Their relationship since appears to have come full circle, with Emmer becoming one of Trump’s chief defenders.
Though Emmer no longer leads the NRCC, he’s continued to raise millions to elect Republicans through his joint fundraising committees.
When House Republicans hold leadership elections on Nov. 13, Emmer’s support for candidates likely won’t be forgotten if he runs for whip again or decides to vie for speaker should Republicans hold onto their House majority.
It was too early to tell Tuesday evening whether Democratic U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar will head back to Washington, D.C., for another six-year term in a contest against Republican challenger Royce White.
The third-term Minnesota senator has achieved high popularity since she was first elected in 2006, easily beating her previous two Republican challengers with more than 60% of the vote.
White, a former professional basketball player and Black Lives Matter protester, is Klobuchar’s most unconventional challenger yet. He’s a political novice and provocateur who’s an ally of Republican strategist and media executive Steve Bannon, who was recently released from jail. He first ran in the Republican primary for Minnesota’s Fifth District in 2022.
Tuesday’s election will show whether Klobuchar’s appeal still reaches across party lines. She hasn’t been on the ballot since 2018, two years before her unsuccessful presidential campaign. The country has become increasingly polarized since Klobuchar last ran for re-election to the Senate.
Klobuchar, a former Hennepin County prosecutor, has pitched herself as a pragmatist, someone who’s worked with Republicans throughout her career to lower prescription drug prices, help veterans and advocate for more housing and child care.
The two candidates disagree substantially on major issues.
On immigration, Klobuchar wants to secure the border and push for immigration reforms while White supports closing the border entirely.
A man was hospitalized with life-threatening injuries Tuesday night after he was found in St. Paul with a gunshot injury to the head.
Just before 5 p.m., police were called to the area of Rice Street and University Avenue W. for a report of shots fired, according to St. Paul Police Sgt. Mike Ernster. When police arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound who was not conscious and not breathing.
St. Paul fire paramedics transported the man to Regions Hospital, where he was treated for life-threatening injuries.
According to initial reports, the shooting suspects are believed to have fled the area on foot. As of 7 p.m. Tuesday, there had not been any arrests.
Investigators are still trying to determine the circumstances that led to the shooting and searching for information on who is responsible.
