Two people were fatally shot inside a building in downtown St. Paul on Monday, inching the city closer to a record number of homicides.
Two fatally shot Monday night in downtown St. Paul are identified
They died from gunshot wounds after police found them inside a building. No arrests have been made.
December 13, 2022 at 11:07PM
Officers from the Metro Transit and St. Paul police departments responded about 8:30 p.m. to reports of shots fired at the building at E. 5th and Cedar streets, Metro Transit spokesman Drew Kerr said.
The building includes a stairway and elevator connecting the street level to the skyway near the Green Line's Central Station.
On Tuesday, the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office identified the dead as 18-year-old David Burton Johnson and 21-year-old Ellijah Marquise Payne. Both were from St. Paul.
They were taken to Regions Hospital, where both were pronounced dead. Kerr said that no arrests have been made, but preliminary information suggests it was not a random shooting.
The young men's deaths mark the 36th and 37th homicides of the year in St. Paul, one shy of matching the record 38 homicides set in 2021.
St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter weighed in on the double homicide on Twitter, calling it "disgusting" and hinting that the city would take steps to address violent incidents.
"Our city, our community and certainly our police officers are united in our rejection of this violence, and our resolve to keep guns out of the wrong hands," Carter said in his tweet. "Clearly we have more to do; stay tuned."
City Council member Rebecca Noecker, whose ward includes the downtown business district, said the incident is horrifying — but not surprising.
"For those of us who live, work or visit downtown Saint Paul, we know that this corner is often the site of illegal behavior and that many people don't feel safe using the skyway or the transit station there," Noecker said in a Facebook post. "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. Clearly, this is not enough."
Noecker plans to discuss safety measures through an "immediate" meeting with Metro Transit Police, the Met Council, the St. Paul Police Department and the Office of Neighborhood Safety. She also plans to host a community meeting early next week.
LOCAL FICTION: Featuring stories within stories, she’ll discuss the book at Talking Volumes on Tuesday.
