Two people were killed and three injured by gunfire after a celebration-of-life event in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood Saturday evening, marking the second subsequent night of violence aimed at those gathered to mourn the loss of a loved one in the capital city.
The shooting happened about 5:15 p.m. on the 500 block of N. Dale Street, outside Kings Crossing by Episcopal Homes, a subsidized apartment complex for seniors. A large group met inside the community room for a memorial and eventually filtered outside into the parking lot.
"As that event was ending, an altercation occurred and shots were fired," Sgt. Mike Ernster said during a late-night news conference Saturday. St. Paul police officers called to the area arrived to find a chaotic scene in the lot and several people wounded. Some of the injured were taken to hospitals in private vehicles before first responders arrived.
One man was pronounced dead at the scene, while another died at United Hospital. Three others remain hospitalized, including a man in critical condition at Regions Hospital and two women with injuries not thought to be life-threatening. As of Sunday evening, no arrests have been made in the case.
Though the exact motive remains unclear, witnesses told investigators that an argument among those in attendance for the funeral repast of an elderly relative escalated to gunfire. The Rev. Darryl Spence recalled how, just hours earlier, dozens gathered at his church to celebrate the life of a congregant's mother.
"We laid an 80-year-old woman to rest. Everything was beautiful," said Spence, an associate pastor at New Hope Baptist Church in St. Paul. But when the mood soured at the reception, it became a tragedy.
"As a preacher in the community, the heaviness is real," said Spence, who sat with the victim's family at Regions hospital overnight. "Guns can't be our first choice."
Friends and relatives have identified one of those killed as Larry Jiles Jr., a beloved Centerville business owner known as Chef Hot Hands.
