St. Paul police fire shots while pursuing stolen vehicle

St. Paul police fired shots at a car as the driver in a stolen vehicle drove toward an officer while fleeing a traffic stop early Tuesday.

Police stopped to investigate a scene in an alley near the intersection of Winter Street and N. Capitol Boulevard about 2 a.m. and spotted the vehicle.

At some point during the stop, the driver took off and drove toward an officer. A second officer fired at the vehicle, said police department spokesman Steve Linders.

The officer who was in the path of the fleeing car got out of the way but suffered minor injures, Linders said.

A short time later and a few miles away, other officers found the stolen vehicle unoccupied on the 700 block of Prior Avenue. Officers continue to look for the driver, Linders said.

Preliminary information indicates that no one in the vehicle appears to have been injured during the incident, Linders said.

The officers who were involved in the shooting were wearing body cameras, Linders said. The footage will be used by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which will investigate the incident.

The officers will be placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard procedure in such cases.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768