St. Paul police fatally shot a man who fired on them from the bedroom of an East Side house Thursday afternoon, authorities said.
It was the city's second fatal officer-involved shooting of the year, and the 13th since 2010.
Officers working on an investigation in the 2100 block of Minnehaha Avenue E. encountered an armed man in the bedroom of the house around 2:15 p.m., police said. The man shot at officers, who returned fire. Medics arrived and pronounced the man dead at the scene.
No officers were injured.
"It was a very dangerous situation," said police spokesman Steve Linders.
He would not comment on the nature of the investigation or on whether the man was known to police. He said he did not know whether the man lived in the yellow, two-story house.
In the aftermath of the shooting, police tape stretched around six blocks of the usually quiet neighborhood. A Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) truck was parked outside the shooting scene.
The St. Paul Police Department announced earlier this year that it would defer investigations of officer-involved shootings to the BCA.
The officers involved will be placed on paid administrative leave, which is standard in these cases. The Ramsey County medical examiner will release the man's identity after performing an autopsy.
Neighbor Tom Christopherson was gardening in his backyard around 2 p.m. when he heard three very distinct pops in the alley across the street from his home.
After a short pause, five to six shots followed, Christopherson said.
He said that he heard no yelling and that he didn't see anyone running or other activity in front of his street.
Within a few minutes, Christopherson saw a fleet of squad cars racing down the alley, he said. Later, he spotted a woman sobbing in the back of one of the cars.
Christopherson said he moved to the neighborhood, which generally sees little police activity, for its safety. Minnehaha Avenue acts as a main thoroughfare, so residents said traffic noise is their main complaint, he said.
Staff writer Karen Zamora contributed to this report.
Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648 Twitter: @ByLizSawyer
