Murder charges: 'Who else want it?' asks man who allegedly shot two at family memorial in St. Paul

The man who shot and killed two people at a family memorial gathering in St. Paul asked others there "who else want it?" before driving off, according to murder charges unsealed Friday.

John L. Edmondson, 52, of St. Louis Park, was charged in Ramsey County District Court with three counts of second-degree murder in connection with the shooting at 5:15 p.m. Saturday in the 500 block of N. Dale Street, outside Kings Crossing by Episcopal Homes, a subsidized apartment complex for seniors.

A group met in the community room for the memorial before filtering out to the parking lot, where the shots were fired. The two people killed were identified a few days later by police as Troy Kennedy, 37, of St. Paul, and Larry Jiles Jr., 34, of Hugo, a chef who was catering the event.

Edmondson was arrested just after noon Thursday at a Bloomington hotel. He appeared in court Friday morning and remains jailed in lieu of $10 million bail and is due in court April 5. Court records do not list an attorney for him.

His criminal history in Minnesota includes a conviction in Ramsey County and imprisonment for aiding and abetting second-degree murder in 1993 by acting as a getaway driver during a holdup. At that time he was part of a gang that robbed drug dealers, the charges revealed.

According to the criminal complaint, based on witness accounts:

As attendees were being instructed to leave, people were arguing in the parking lot "possibly about working with the police and snitching," the charges read.

Edmondson put his arm around Jiles and shot him three times in the head and neck. He then fired at least six shots from his hip at everyone in the parking lot and wounded Kennedy, who was his cousin.

"Who else want it?" he allegedly said before driving in his compact SUV with two women to United Hospital, where one of the wounded people was receiving medical attention. He dropped off the women there.

While a fugitive, Edmondson told several people that he wasn't going back to prison and "threatened to shoot it out with police if he is pulled over," according to the charges.

An earlier court filing reported that a man with a life-threatening gunshot wound was taken to Regions Hospital in a private vehicle and was in critical condition. Medics took a wounded woman to Regions, while a second wounded woman was taken to United in a private vehicle, the filing read. Officials have not disclosed their conditions.