2 fatally shot, 3 injured after celebration of life at St. Paul senior living center
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- Police are investigating after two men were killed and multiple others hurt in a shooting in St. Paul's Frogtown neighborhood late Saturday afternoon.
The St. Paul Police Department says five people were shot on the 500 block of North Dale Street near University Avenue at a senior living apartment building around 5:15 p.m.
Police say a man is in critical condition, one woman is in stable condition and another woman has non-life-threatening injuries.
According to the Quad Area Chamber of Commerce, one of the victims was Larry Jiles Jr., also know as "Chef Hot Hands."
Larry Jiles Jr. aka Chef Hot Hands was one of the victims fatally shot yesterday in St. Paul at a funeral reception, Quad Area Chamber of Commerce confirms. Photo from a ribbon cutting for his cafe in Centerville.
— Kirsten Mitchell (@Kirsten_TV) February 26, 2023
“We will remember his warm smile and passion for serving people.” pic.twitter.com/8iWPSaf8N3
The shooting took place in the parking lot of Kings Crossing by Episcopal Homes, an apartment building that offers housing for low-income seniors ages 62 and older, after a celebration of life held in the building's community room.
Joann Chillers, 79, lives in an apartment unit above the community room.
"It's it's normally a quiet and secure building," Chillers said.
She tells WCCO she noticed people arguing at the gathering on her way out the door to the grocery store.
"I came downstairs and it was so loud. Like a couple hundred people up in there and I've never seen it that rowdy before," she said.
An hour later, she came home to a crime scene, unable to get to her parking spot.
This marks the second shooting in St. Paul in the past two days. On Friday evening, three teen boys were wounded in a drive-by shooting during a funeral reception for a 15-year-old boy who had been fatally stabbed at a St. Paul high school earlier this month.
Gov. Tim Walz tweeted about the incidents saying, "The gun violence in St. Paul this weekend is unacceptable. I'm committed to increasing public safety funding, getting illegal guns off the streets, and addressing gang activity to curb the cycle of violence."
This marks St. Paul's fourth and fifth homicide of the year.
No arrests have been made.
Police say they do not believe the shooting was random but have yet to identify a motive.