St. Paul Man Faces Manslaughter Charge In 2-Year-Old's Shooting Death

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 39-year-old St. Paul man faces charges in connection to the shooting death of a 2-year-old boy last week.

Earl Williams faces second-degree manslaughter and two counts of possessing a firearm as a convict in connection to the Dec. 23 incident. All three charges are felonies.

According to police, the 2-year-old victim was struck by a bullet in the early afternoon of Wednesday at an apartment on the 800 block of Rice Street, in the city's South of Maryland neighborhood.

Police say a 911 caller asked for help at about 1:15 p.m., reporting that a boy had "hurt his head." Medics were the first to arrive at the third-floor apartment.

Police said the boy was taken to the ambulance waiting outside the building, but the boy died before the ambulance could even leave the scene. It marked the city's 34th homicide of 2020, the most homicides the city has ever seen in a single year.

On Monday, police identified the boy as Jayse Damir Wilson.

Police said 39-year-old Earl Williams of St. Paul turned himself in on Christmas night. He has since been charged and made his first appearance in court Monday morning. His bail was set at $250,000.

CRIMINAL COMPLAINT DETAILS

According to the criminal complaint, Williams called the victim's mother shortly after the incident and said he left a gun in the bathroom. He said the boy "got to it" and had shot himself in the head. Williams left the apartment after telling the victim's sister to call 911.

Police said three of the victim's siblings were in the apartment at the time of the shooting. The sibling who called 911 found the boy in the bathroom in a pool of blood.

The 911 operator gave the siblings instructions on performing CPR, but the boy was pronounced dead at the scene when medics arrived. The victim had a gunshot wound to his forehead. He was nearly 3 years old.

Williams has five prior felony convictions, including receiving stolen property, attempted armed robbery with a gun, aggravated sexual assault and manufacturing/delivering controlled substances. The drug, robbery and sexual assault convictions all make him ineligible to posses any firearms or ammunition.

Williams' next court appearance is slated for Feb. 18.