Suspect in St. Paul shooting was city employee

The man arrested for allegedly shooting a teenager in the head outside St. Paul's Jimmy Lee Recreation Center on Wednesday was a staff member who has worked there for about a year.

The circumstances behind the shooting remain murky. Mayor Melvin Carter and St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry shared details Thursday, with Carter revealing that the 26-year-old man suspect worked for the city on an "on-and-off basis" since 2013. He was recently employed at the recreation center as a community recreation specialist, a role that involves direct contact with youth and community members.

Carter and Henry did not reveal what led up to the shooting, saying it remained under investigation. The victim remained in critical condition at Regions Hospital.

Although police released the man's name, the Star Tribune generally doesn't name suspects until they are charged. His Minnesota criminal record amounts to minor offenses including misdemeanor theft, marijuana possession and driving without a license. The victim's family asked that his name remain private.

"We are shocked by this, and I am one of those parents who sends my children to our rec centers," Carter said, adding that he and his father grew up visiting the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center. "We just came out of a two-and-a-half hour meeting with our frontline staff to address questions exactly like [whether there will be increased security measures] … and at this point, we have to be in a space where everything is on the table."

In the meantime, city officials are not rushing to reopen the space at 270 Lexington Pkwy. N.. Carter said their priority is caring for young people and staff who may have been traumatized, as Parks and Recreation Director Andy Rodriguez said it's likely that 100 kids or less were at the center during the shooting.

Although the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center was closed Thursday, vestiges of the crime scene remained. Tattered caution tape clung to trees outside the building. A discarded surgical glove covered by snow lay in the parking lot. An onlooker drove past the building, peering at the entrance doors before pulling away. An announcement on the center's website said they are closed through Sunday.

City officials described the Oxford Community Center, which includes the Jimmy Lee Recreation Center, as a multimillion-dollar facility with an aquatic center and recreation center that draws people from across the region — a prototype for a space that Carter says "we know that we need for our children."

Across the street, Central High School's doors were also shuttered Thursday "to ensure students have time and space to process this traumatic event," according to an email that Principal Cherise Ayers sent to families. Carter said he does not remember a time that a school has closed because of violence like this.

The incident happened in the center's parking lot, according to Henry, but police are still piecing together what led up to the violent interaction between that staff worker and the teen. The worker fled after the shooting, but Henry said they found him and the firearm involved afterwards. Records show he was arrested in the 1600 block of Stillwater Avenue E.

Carter would like to prevent incidents like this by reducing the availability of firearms. He's urging DFL lawmakers to reconsider a law that prohibits cities from prohibiting firearms at public facilities like rec centers.

"If everybody has a gun then every conflict has a potential of turning into a gunfight, and that creates challenges not just for St. Paull, but around the country," Carter said.

Carter said he spoke with Gov. Tim Walz and state legislators Wednesday night and said their conversations focused on unraveling and addressing the shooting

For now, police said there is no continued threat stemming from Wednesday's shooting. Families and community members who rely on recreation centers should continue to do so, Carter said.

Tammie Johnson, a former community recreation specialist who worked at the rec center and lives nearby, said the night of the shooting that she was upset and that more should have been done to prevent it. She said she resigned after she was attacked by a teenage girl.

"It's so sad," Johnson said. "I told them last year if they don't get it under control this was going to happen."