'Very Frightening': MN Rep. Robbed At Gunpoint After Leaving St. Paul Bar
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Minnesota Rep. Dennis Smith (R-Maple Grove) says he was robbed at gunpoint outside a St. Paul bar Thursday evening.
According to a police report, it happened at Salut Bar on Grand Avenue at around 10:40 p.m. Smith was on his phone walking northbound on the east sidewalk of Milton Street, just north of Grand Avenue, when a man approached him.
Smith said he and some colleagues were at the bar celebrating the passage of the Real ID bill. When they left and went separate ways, Smith told WCCO a man with a hoodie pulled up approached him, pointed a gun at him from his hip and asked for his wallet. He repeated and Smith complied. The suspect then asked for his phone and Smith also complied. The suspect then fled the scene.
"It was very frightening. Whenever you have a loaded gun pointed at you, you think of your loved ones and the worst case scenario," he said. "I'm very thankful that it turned out I was safe."
Smith then went back to Salut and called police. A K-9 search was unsuccessful.
Smith described the suspect to police as a black male, 25 to 35 years old, wearing a black hooded sweatshirt, wearing dark clothing, short hair, and clean shaven.