Man shot in one part of St. Paul turns up dead in a car near State Capitol

A man shot in one part of St. Paul turned up dead in a vehicle near the State Capitol soon afterward, officials said Tuesday.

Police were called about 7:30 p.m. to the 500 block of Front Avenue in the city’s North End by a man who reported being assaulted while in a vehicle, a statement from police read.

The caller added that he shot a man who was assaulting him and may have wounded him, the statement continued. Police said that the man got in a red vehicle and left.

A brief time later, the vehicle crashed about 2 miles away at the intersection of E. 12th and Cedar Streets, just south of the Capitol, according to police.

“An adult male with a gunshot injury was located inside of the red vehicle,” the statement read. “He was unconscious and not breathing.”

Police said passersby assisted officers in tending to the man and Fire Department medics soon arrived, but the man was declared dead at the scene. Officials have yet to release his identity.

The original caller has spoken to homicide investigators “as they are currently working to determine what led to the shooting,” the police statement noted.

There have been 27 homicides in St. Paul so far this year, according to a Star Tribune database. There were 28 homicides in the city at this time last year.