St. Paul police kill armed man wearing bullet-proof vest after standoff

St. Paul police shot and killed a man who was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and waving a rifle Monday afternoon on the city's East Side.

Police were called to 411 White Bear Av. N. near Old Hudson Road at 3:20 p.m. on a report that a man was armed with a rifle.

Neighbors, who asked that their names not be used, said the man was heard screaming incoherently, cursing and waving the gun even before the police SWAT team and negotiators arrived in the neighborhood.

One neighbor heard the man scream out that he was going to kill somebody.

A neighbor who lives behind the house was outside in the yard with his granddaughter when they heard the man screaming. When he and his granddaughter left, they saw the man was shirtless but ­wearing a bullet-resistant vest.

"I knew then that things weren't going to go well," the neighbor said.

Negotiators talked to the gunman for more than an hour, neighbors said. Police cordoned off the immediate area and evacuated some residents from the danger zone.

At one point, a neighbor saw the man drinking beer and heard him talking to his mother on the phone as negotiators stood by.

One neighbor said it appeared that the man put the gun down behind a screen door. As the man turned toward the door, police shot him several times with beanbag ammunition, the neighbor said. The man then fell and appeared to reach for the gun, the neighbor said. That's when the neighbor heard shots.

The man, whom police have not identified, died at the scene.

No officers were hurt, the police spokesman said.

At some point multiple shots were fired and the suspect was hit, according to police. At a news conference Tuesday night, police said they used nonlethal force before resorting to live ammunition. Police said they are trying to determine whether the gunman was in possession of his gun when police fired on him, or if he ever fired his gun.

The police are working with the Ramsey County medical examiner to determine the dead man's identity.

The four officers involved, whose names were not released, will be placed on a routine three-day paid administrative leave, according to a statement released by police Monday night.

Neighbors said the man and a woman moved into the home about two weeks ago.

This is the second officer-involved fatal shooting for St. Paul police in 2015.

Nicole Norfleet • 612-673-4495

Twitter: @stribnorfleet