Local

Murder-suicide suspected in shooting deaths of cousins

The two were found dead across the street from a St. Paul school.

By Kyeland Jackson

April 20, 2023 at 6:30PM

Saint Paul police are on the scene where one man and one woman were killed in a shooting on the 1400 block of E. Minnehaha Avenue, just north of Twin Cities Academy (TCA) in Saint Paul, Minn., on Tuesday, April 18, 2023. The woman was found inside the apartment complex and the man was discovered between two apartment buildings. ] SHARI L. GROSS • shari.gross@startribune.com (Shari L. Gross, Star Tribune/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

St. Paul police say a murder-suicide is suspected in the shooting deaths of two cousins at an apartment complex Tuesday.

The St. Paul Police Department identified Jonathan Evans, 18, and Tracey Loving, 27, as the victims of the Tuesday shooting. In a social media update, police said the two were cousins and that the incident is being investigated as a murder-suicide.

The shooting happened Tuesday just before 5:45 a.m. Police were called to the 1400 block of E. Minnehaha Avenue on Tuesday for reports of someone being shot, finding Loving inside the apartment complex with a gunshot wound.

She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Officers securing the scene also found Evans behind the building with a gunshot wound, also pronouncing him dead at the scene.

"Evidence indicates that Evans shot Loving and then took his own life outside of the building," SPPD's social media post said. "This investigation remains active and ongoing. No additional updates are available."

Loving's death marks the 11th homicide in St. Paul this year. There were 13 at this point last year, according to a Star Tribune database.