St. Paul police investigating second homicide this weekend

For the second straight morning, St. Paul police are investigating an overnight homicide.

Officers working off-duty at an establishment on the 900 block of University Avenue reported hearing shots fired at 2 a.m. Sunday, police said. A short time later, a man suffering from an apparent gunshot wound was dropped off at Regions Hospital, where he later died.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office is working to positively identify the victim and to determine his exact cause of death.

The homicide comes a day after a man was shot and killed in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood early Saturday, according to police.

The deaths marked the 18th and 19th homicides in the city this year.

No arrests have been made in either shooting. Police said they do not believe the homicides are related.

In the Saturday incident, officers headed to a residential area at Lafond Avenue and Dale Street N. about 5 a.m. to respond to what at the time was described as a fight. They soon learned that a weapon was involved.

When they arrived, they found a man suffering from a gunshot wound, police spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster said. Paramedics arrived and took the victim to Regions Hospital, where he died.

The Ramsey County medical examiner's office will release the identity of the victim.

Anyone with information about the shootings is asked to call St. Paul homicide investigators at 651-266-5650.