Man Hospitalized After Shooting In St. Paul; No Arrests Made
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) -- Services for a young member of Above Every Name church were just getting started around 1 p.m. on Monday when violence erupted.
A mourner identified as Damarco John Thompson was walking across the street near an alley in the 700 block of Portland Avenue when numerous shots rang out.
"A friend of mine was here for a funeral and I've been told he was out here and somebody walked up to him and shot him twice," Corydon Nillson said. "No idea why, I don't know."
Police rushed to the scene and located the victim, surrounded by spent shell casings. Officers provided first aid and called for paramedics.
"(Police) tell me he was alert and responsive," Nillson said.
Thompson was transported to Regions Hospital, suffering gunshot wounds to his abdomen and chest.
"I was standing out here having a cigarette and all of a sudden a snapping, like five shots," Ken Linde said.
Linde witnessed the shooter run from the scene and escape in a car.
"All of a sudden, saw the kid running with a jacket on behind a red Jeep and ran into a black Subaru station wagon and took off," Linde said.
Thompson appears to have been targeted in a neighborhood people say was, until today, safe and quiet.
"I know a lot of community members are very unsettled and sick of the violence on every level," Nillson said.
Thompson is the son of St. Paul activist John Thompson, who was a close friend of Philando Castille and became involved in the Black Lives Matter movement.
Police report that the younger Thompson is in stable condition.
The shooting is a sobering reality, coming at such a time of sadness.
Police have not made any arrests regarding the incident, and the investigation is ongoing.