Man found shot to death in St. Paul alley near Capitol

St. Paul police were searching for a suspect after a Saturday afternoon shooting left one man dead in an alley two blocks from the Minnesota State Capitol.

Officers were called to the scene outside an apartment building in the 200 block of Aurora Avenue around 2:45 p.m. Saturday, authorities said. Paramedics declared the man dead at the scene.

It was not immediately clear whether the victim lived in the complex, said Sgt. Mike Ernster. The victim's identity has not been released.

While no suspect information has been released, police said they do not believe the shooting was random. Officers have responded to seven low-level disturbance calls at the residence this year alone, Ernster said.

A neighbor two houses down from the complex said the building has been attracting problem tenants for years. Residents have witnessed fights and drug-related crimes, but never a killing, he said.

"I don't let my grandkids go around there," said the man, who asked that he not be identified for safety reasons.

On Saturday night, half of the 200 block of Aurora Avenue and a vacant tennis court at the corner of Aurora and Marion were cordoned off with police tape. A police forensics van remained on the property with crime scene technicians well into the evening.

The Ramsey County medical examiner will release the victim's name and cause of death after performing an autopsy and notifying relatives.

The man's death marked St. Paul's eighth homicide of 2017.

Early on April 7, officers responded to a triple homicide in the 1600 block of English Street that was believed to have been motivated by a custody battle. Police say that Jeffrey Jemaile Taylor, 20, killed his estranged girlfriend and two of her relatives before turning the gun on himself in a late-night murder-suicide.

The Ramsey County attorney's office has opted not to bring charges in that case.

Liz Sawyer 612-673-4648