The broad-daylight shooting of a man in St. Paul has neighbors rattled.
Michael Brasel, 44, a father of two, a husband and a youth hockey coach, was fatally shot as he tried to stop someone stealing from a car outside his house in the quiet St. Anthony Park neighborhood just before 7:30 a.m. Saturday.
"He had the best sense of humor, giant love for his boys and ever-giving spirit to help out those around him," Brasel's wife, Hilary, wrote on Facebook.
On Sunday afternoon, neighbors said Brasel's death left them on edge — especially the many families on the street with young children.
"Everyone's taking it very hard," one neighbor said.
The neighborhood is close-knit, residents said, with people often living in their homes for decades.
The neighbors nearest Brasel's home were awoken Saturday morning by the sounds of gunshots — something no one could remember ever hearing in the 2300 block of Chilcombe Avenue. St. Paul police found Brasel there with gunshot wounds after a 911 caller reported that a neighbor had been shot. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office said Sunday that Brasel died of multiple gunshot wounds.
One longtime resident said the immediate neighborhood has never seen serious crime, nothing more than thefts from unlocked cars or stolen catalytic converters.
Many neighbors who know the family well were too upset to speak about Brasel's death. Some left flowers on the family's front steps. An online fundraiser to help the family had raised more than $87,000 as of Sunday evening.
Police had not announced any arrests as of Sunday evening.
