Security guard shoots, kills man outside Maplewood nightclub

A 20-year-old St. Paul man was shot to death after apparently attacking a nightclub security guard in Maplewood early Friday morning.

Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell said it appears that the shooting victim and a group of friends had been asked to leave the Stargate Nightclub on Rice Street. Witnesses at the scene told police that the group of men argued with the security guard at the club's entrance and then chased the guard into the parking lot.

"The security guard fell down in the parking lot," Schnell said. "He was being assaulted by the men, at which time he fired his weapon, striking the victim."

The shooting victim, who has not yet been identified pending family notification, was transported to Regions Hospital, where he later died.

Video surveillance confirms the witness accounts, Schnell said. No one else was shot during the incident.

Police are still in the early stages of the investigation, Schnell said, but charges could also be possible against anyone involved in the initial attack on the guard. The security guard is cooperating with police.