Man Pleads Guilty To Straw Purchasing Guns, Including One Used In St. Paul Bar Shooting

ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) - A Twin Cities man has pleaded guilty to federal charges for his role in straw purchasing guns, including the gun used in the mass shooting at a St. Paul bar last October.

Gabriel Lee Young-Duncan, 27, participated in a conspiracy to illegally buy firearms between May 11, 2021 and Oct. 17, 2021, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Young-Duncan's co-conspirator would buy the guns, state on a federal form that they were the actual buyer, and transfer the gun to Young-Duncan, who would transfer it to another person, court documents said.

The two would lie to Federal Firearms Licensees throughout the metro, the DOJ said. During the six months that the two collaborated, they illegally obtained 25 firearms, including four Glock 9mm semiautomatic pistols and two Mossberg 9mm semiautomatic pistols.

One of the guns purchased was fired during the mass shooting on Oct. 10 at St. Paul's Seventh Street Truck Park Bar, which left a woman dead and 14 people injured. Two men have been charged in that case.

Young-Duncan pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to make a false statement in the purchase of a firearm. No sentencing date has been set.