Triple Shooting, Pedestrian Crash Lead To Chaos At The State Fair's End
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The Minnesota State Fair ended with a chaotic scene: a woman hit by a car followed by a triple shooting.
St. Paul police are investigating the incidents, which happened late Monday night, just outside the fair's main gate. It's unclear if the incidents are connected.
WCCO's Reg Chapman spoke with investigators late Tuesday afternoon. They're now asking for the public's help.
St. Paul police say the victim of a traffic accident a block and a half from the entrance of the State Fair is in critical, but stable condition. Investigators say 19-year-old Dynasty Scott was getting out of a vehicle that was in the northbound lane of Snelling closest to the centerline.
"She then got out of that vehicle on the right side into the other lane of traffic and that's when she was struck," said St. Paul police spokesperson Steve Linders.
The driver of the car is cooperating with police and has not been charged with a crime. Minutes later, right after fireworks illuminated the night sky inside the fairgrounds, gunshots rang out near the main entrance.
"It was a very busy time, the fair had just let out," said Linders. "We had just had a pedestrian hit up the street, our officers were blocking off Snelling, buses trying to get out of there, we had people trying to go home."
Witnesses say they heard around a dozen gunshots. Three people were hit, one in the hand, one in the stomach, the other in the shoulder. All were taken to Regions Hospital and treated for non-life threatening injuries.
"Investigators have discovered that two guns were used in that shooting," said Linders.
Police found shell casings from two different weapons at the scene. Investigators are using police body-worn camera video and video from cameras in the area to try and identify those responsible.
"The responsibility for this lies squarely in the lap of the people who pulled the trigger," said Linders. "It was brazen, it was lawless and it showed no regard for human life."
One of the shooting victims was arrested after he was treated for his injuries. He had a warrant for being a felon in possession of a gun.
If you know anything about the triple shooting outside the state fair, St. Paul police would like to speak with you.
