A young woman was killed and 14 other people were shot after several gunmen opened fire in a crowded bar in downtown Saint Paul, Minnesota, early Sunday morning.

Police found a ‘chaotic scene’ after responding to the Seventh Street Truck Park bar at 12:15 a.m. M.

A woman in her 20s was pronounced dead and 14 others were rushed to local hospitals with gunshot wounds, though all 14 are expected to survive, according to the Saint Paul Police Department.

“ There were victims of gunshot wounds lying on the street outside the bar, there were victims of gunshot wounds lying on the sidewalk outside the bar, and there were victims of gunshot wounds lying on the ground inside the bar, ” said the spokesperson for police Steve Linders to reporters at the scene. .wikipedia

No arrests have been made and no motive has been established, but officers confirmed there were “multiple shooters.” They have yet to identify the woman who was killed.

Some were hit on the ankles and arms, Linders said, while others suffered more serious injuries.

Investigations

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office will perform an autopsy on the deceased woman to confirm her identity and the cause of her death.

Five investigators from the police department’s homicide unit are investigating the incident with patrol officers, the forensic services unit and the video management unit, police said in a statement released Sunday at 7.44 a.m.

Police said they worked with the ‘good Samaritans’ to provide assistance and make sure it was safe for firefighters to enter the area.

“My heart breaks for the woman who was murdered, her loved ones and everyone who was in that bar this morning,” said Police Chief Todd Axtell.

In an instant, they were caught in a hellish situation. I want you to know that we have the best investigators in the country and we will not stop until we find those responsible for this madness. We will do our part to hold them accountable. ”

Incident Detail

The incident took place in the 200 block of West Seventh Street, according to officers.

Multiple local media outlets, including KSTP and Saint Paul Pioneer Press, named the location Seventh Street Truck Park, an indoor bar filled with various ‘food trucks’ serving different types of cuisine.

Four of the injured were taken to Regions Hospital, three to United Hospital and seven to Hennepin County Medical Center, police spokesman Linders said. Some traveled by ambulance and others in private cars.

The homicide was the city’s 32nd of the year, according to police, meaning the city is likely on track to break last year’s record.

There were 34 homicides in Saint Paul in 2020, equaling the 1992 record, according to Pioneer Press.

“Our community is devastated by the shocking scenes last night,” Mayor Melvin Carter of the Democratic-Peasant-Labor Party said in a statement posted on Twitter hours after the incident.

“As our St. Paul officers work to bring those responsible for these senseless acts into custody, our work to build more proactive and comprehensive public safety strategies is more urgent than ever. We will never accept violence in our community. ‘

The incident comes as the troubled city battles rising crime rates, with police reporting a 15 percent increase in crime from 2019 to 2020, according to annual statistics released in January.

Homicides increased 13.3 percent to 34 in 2020, and aggravated assault increased 32.1 percent from 946 in 2019 to 1,246 in 2020.

Thefts also saw an increase of about 11.8 percent, from 2,038 in 2019 to 2,279 in 2020.

Overall, violent crime in St. Paul increased 25 percent between 2019 and 2020.

Rape is the only crime that has seen a decrease, from 236 in 2019 to 196 in 2020.

The entire state of Minnesota saw murders rise 58 percent last year to 185, an all-time high.

Downtown Saint Paul

Downtown Saint Paul, where Sunday’s incident occurred, had its lowest crime rate in five years during the months of June, July and August.

“We were 23 percent below crime rates last year and we are 10 percent below the five-year average,” Joe Spencer, president of the Saint Paul Downtown Alliance, told WCCO last month.

US Rep. Betty McCollum called the shooting “a horror” in a series of tweets Sunday morning.

“The epidemic of gun violence ravaging the Twin Cities has hit us in St. Paul with a mass shooting that can only be described as a horror,” she said.

‘I know that our St. Paul community will come together to support the victims and their families during this time of pain and pain.

“I am committed to keeping St. Paul safe and that means working with all community leaders to get guns off our streets and out of the hands of criminals. We must not allow this type of criminal act to happen again ”.

Todd Axtell Quick and Facts

• It happened shortly after midnight Sunday at the Seventh Street Truck Park bar
• Police believe there were multiple shooters, though no one has been arrested
• A woman in her 20s was pronounced dead at the scene, police say
• Fourteen others were rushed to local hospitals and are expected to survive
• This is the 32nd homicide in St. Paul this year, on track to break last year’s record

Source: wikisoon