16-year-old facing weapons charges after 3 shot at funeral reception for teenager
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- A 16-year-old is facing multiple weapons charges in connection to a shooting at the funeral reception for a Harding High School student who was fatally stabbed earlier this month.
Three people between ages 14 and 17 were injured in the shooting at El Rio Vista Recreation Center in St. Paul's West Side neighborhood last Friday night.
The St. Paul Police Department says someone fired shots into the rec center from a passing white sedan. Shortly after, a car with a similar description crashed into another vehicle less than a quarter-mile away.
Officers found multiple shell casings inside the crashed vehicle. They also noted a punched ignition and broken glass, later verifying the car had been stolen.
Police say three men ran from the scene of the crash, a witness alleging the men grabbed two handguns from the car before running.
Minutes later, officers stopped a 16-year-old boy running away from the area of the shooting.
The boy denied any involvement with the shooting or the crash, but admitted to having a firearm in his pocket.
Officers searched the boy's pocket and say they found a loaded pistol that appeared to be equipped with a switch to make it fully automatic. The gun had a live round in the chamber and an extended magazine capable of holding 22 rounds of ammunition, police say.
No one else has been charged in connection to the shooting.