St. Paul to hold virtual town hall to discuss crime and public safety

With two fatal shootings last week in downtown St. Paul and the year's number of homicides on pace to meet last year's record, residents are invited to attend a virtual town hall to share their concerns.

Council Member Rebecca Noecker, whose ward includes the downtown business district, will hold a public meeting online at 5:30 p.m. Dec. 19 to answer questions and update residents on what officials are doing to make the area safer.

Noecker will attend the meeting, as will representatives from Metro Transit and the St. Paul Police Department.

Monday's meeting follows public outcry over a double homicide at St. Paul's busy Central Station, a light-rail stop at E. 5th and Cedar streets. Police responded that night to reports of shots fired, finding 18-year-old David Burton Johnson and 21-year-old Ellijah Marquise Payne with gunshot wounds.

The St. Paul natives were brought to Regions Hospital, where they were pronounced dead. No arrests have been made, but Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr said preliminary information suggests the shooting was not random.

"In the years since I've been in office, we've worked hard to address these issues — by revamping the skyway code, working with the Met Council and others to prepare the corner for development, hiring Community Ambassadors to deter crime, and, of course, working to get a stronger police presence," Noecker said in a Facebook post after the shooting. "Clearly, this is not enough."

Mayor Melvin Carter called the shooting disgusting in a Twitter post, hinting towards a city response to violent incidents.

It is unclear if Carter will attend Monday's meeting, but Taina Maki, Noecker's legislative aide, said Deputy Mayor Jaime Tincher and the mayor's chief of staff, Peter Leggett, have been invited.

Residents with questions about the meeting and how to attend it can visit Noecker's Facebook page at facebook.com/ward2saintpaul or email Maki at taina.maki@ci.stpaul.mn.us.

Johnson and Payne's deaths were the 36th and 37th homicides in St. Paul so far this year, one shy of matching last year's record 38 homicides.