'We Got To Do Something': 1 Dead, 5 Hurt In 2 Separate St. Paul Shootings
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Police in St. Paul are investigating two separate shootings that happened two hours apart -- one resulting in the city's 12th homicide of the year.
The first shooting happened at about 8:30 p.m. Friday on Suburban Avenue near Earl Street in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood, just north of Indian Mounds Regional Park. Officers arrived at the scene to find a man had been shot and was unresponsive. He was later pronounced dead at the scene. Homicide investigators are working to learn what led up to the shooting. No arrests have been made
"Right now there's a lot of information out there, a lot of information is shared on the police radio. A lot of that is unvetted, and we're working through that information to determine what is accurate, and hopefully we get an accurate picture of what happened," said Sgt. Mike Ernster.
Police are also investigating another shooting that happened just two hours later in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood. Officers say they found a woman and three men shot at the scene on Desoto Avenue near York Street. They were all taken to Regions Hospital. One of the men has life-threatening injuries, while the other three are expected to be okay. A fifth person showed up at St. John's Hospital with a gunshot wound. He too is expected to be alright.
Police do not believe there is a connection between the two shootings.
As police investigates both shootings, one community group is asking people to put the guns down. Dora Jones founded Mentoring Young Adults, and is asking everyone to put the guns down.
"We want to bring awareness to our city about the guns, about the gun violence. We got to do something!" Jones said.
Mentoring Young Adults has already planned its event "Guns Down St. Paul" before this weekend's shootings. Two-hundred young people, parents and community members got together to talk about gun violence, and encourage young people to not take that path.
There were also breakout sessions, where young people could talk about trauma and other issues that could lead some to go down the wrong path.
"There are certainly many, many different ways in which we have to address the possibility of violence in our community. One of them is hopes, dreams and knowledge. And I think that's what this convening is all about," said District 4 Ramsey County Commissioner Toni Carter.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter was a speaker at this event. Mentoring Young Adults partners with the St. Paul Police, Ramsey County Sheriff, the Ramsey County Attorney's office, along with many others. Click here for more information on how to get involved with Mentoring Young Adults.
