Three dead, two wounded in shooting on St. Paul's East Side

Three people were shot and killed and two more wounded Sunday on St. Paul's East Side, and police were searching for suspects.

Officers arrived about 4:30 p.m. to find two people with gunshot wounds waiting for them outside a two-story home on the 900 block of Case Avenue E. Three more victims were inside the home. Medics pronounced the three inside dead at the scene.

"This is one of the most complex crime scenes we have investigated in some time," said Sgt. Mike Ernster, spokesman for the St. Paul Police Department.

Few details were immediately available. Police were still trying to identify the victims and their relation to each other.

"We know people want answers for what occurred here tonight," Ernster said.

The killings are the 25th, 26th and 27th of the year in St. Paul.

Before the shooting, officers had been called to that address 17 times over the past year, for complaints ranging from disorderly conduct to aggravated assault, he said.