Police: Two dead, three injured after shooting in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood

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.

"Larry was a lot of things to a lot of people. He brought energy and heart to this community along with his delicious food," the Quad Area Chamber of Commerce posted on Facebook, next to a grinning photo of Jiles in a white chef's coat at the ribbon cutting for his gourmet takeout restaurant. "We will remember his warm smile and passion for serving people."

Online tributes lauded Jiles as a staple at town festivals, where he put heart into crafting the perfect menu. Locals often invited him into their homes to judge chili cookoffs and rib-eating contests and to cater special events, said Centerville Mayor D. Love.

"He ran the type of business that people go to at the end of a hard work day, [when] they say, 'You know, I don't feel like cooking tonight, let's see what he has on his menu,' " Love told the Star Tribune. "That's a pretty unique business in a small city like ours."

The bloodshed occurred less than 24 hours after three teens were injured in a drive-by shooting at a funeral reception for Devin Scott, a 15-year-old boy who was stabbed to death Feb. 10 at Harding High School. A longstanding feud between two rival cliques in St. Paul — dating back to the murder of 16-year-old Antwan Watson last fall — is thought to have motivated Friday night's shooting, said Ramsey County Sheriff Bob Fletcher.

"We believe the shooters were tied to Antwan Watson's group," Fletcher said. "Social media is abundant with threats from both groups toward each other."

Despite some similar circumstances, police say there's no evidence to suggest the incidents on Friday and Saturday night were connected. Yet the back-to-back shootings have exasperated public officials and residents who are desperate to curb the cycle of gun violence plaguing the city.

"We are tired of having this press conference. We're tired of the words 'disgusted' and 'senseless' and 'frustrating' — and we're tired of having to figure out how to wrap words around violence," Mayor Melvin Carter said during Saturday night's news conference. "When we see events like tonight it shakes our sense of security; it's just plain heartbreaking."

The slayings mark the fourth and fifth homicides of the year in St. Paul — all of which occurred in a two-week span, according to a Star Tribune database. That count includes the fatal police shooting of 65-year-old Yia Xiong.

Public memorials have long been an easy target for violence, sometimes by rival gang members seeking to retaliate. Last February, a 28-year-old man was killed and three others wounded outside a homicide victim's funeral on St. Paul's West Side after multiple gunmen opened fire following an altercation on the sidewalk.

Staff writers John Reinan and Vince Tuss contributed to this report.