Charge: Teen with criminal history rode bike up to St. Paul man, fired fatal shots and pedaled away

The 16-year-old has been arrested several times earlier in Ramsey County and had a warrant active for his arrest.

The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 13, 2024 at 5:45PM

A 16-year-old with a criminal history was charged Friday with fatally shooting a man in St. Paul, then fleeing on a bicycle.

Knyaw Taw of St. Paul was charged in a juvenile petition filed in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree intentional murder in connection with the shooting on Tuesday of Davion Lamonte-Paule Brown, 22, of St Paul, in the 1300 block of E. Maryland Avenue.

Taw remains in custody ahead of a court appearance later Friday. The County Attorney’s Office has indicated it will pursue prosecuting Taw in adult court, where a conviction would mean a more severe sentence.

The criminal complaint did not offer a motive for the killing.

Taw has been arrested several times in Ramsey County and had an active warrant for his arrest in connection with possessing fentanyl in April 2023. The complaint included no details about his earlier alleged offenses.

Video surveillance cited in the criminal complaint showed Kaw, wearing a mask, riding a bicycle toward a parked SUV. Kaw got off the bike and exchanged words with people in the vehicle, then shot Brown, who is standing outside with others. Kaw continued shooting after Brown fell to the pavement. He then fled the scene on the bicycle.

Officers arrived shortly before 12:30 p.m. to find Brown suffering from multiple gunshot wounds. Medics took him to Regions Hospital, where he died.

A citizen directed officers to Kaw, and a sheriff’s deputy arrested him several blocks to the northeast of the scene after a brief foot chase. Police found a handgun, the suspected murder weapon, in a backyard nearby.

about the writer

Abby Simons

Team Leader

Abby Simons is the Star Tribune’s Public Safety Editor. Her team covers crime and courts across the metro. She joined the Star Tribune in 2008 and previously reported on crime, courts and politics.

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