St. Catherine U security officer wounded; cops say no threat to public

St. Paul police search for St. Catherine University campus shooting suspect
St. Paul police squad cars lined the streets around the St. Catherine University Tuesday night after an unarmed campus security guard was reported shot in the shoulder. Officers searched the area for two hours but did not find a shooter.
Tim Nelson | MPR News

Updated 10:10 a.m., Sept. 13 | Posted 11:42 p.m., Sept. 12

St. Paul police rushed to the St. Catherine University campus Tuesday night after an unarmed campus security guard was reported shot in the shoulder.

Authorities searched overnight for a shooter. By mid-morning Wednesday, however, investigators said they believe there is no threat to public safety, although the case remains open.

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The shooting happened around 9:30 p.m. on the campus in St. Paul's Highland Park neighborhood. Police initially said a suspect shot the campus security officer after being confronted in a wooded area, and then fled.

Around 11:30 p.m., the university tweeted that police remained "on scene searching for a hostile shooter" and urged students to remain indoors. The school activated its safety protocols and locked the campus down following the shooting.

Officers were working on a suspect description and couldn't initially locate the scene of the shooting, St. Paul police spokesperson Mike Ernster said.

A little after midnight Wednesday morning, officers ended the immediate search for the shooter without locating a suspect. Authorities conducted a building to building search of campus residence halls.

St. Catherine's is a private, Catholic university with about 4,800 total students, including nearly 2,000 traditional undergraduates, nearly all of them women.

The university said Wednesday all campus activities have resumed and the security officer is expected to make a full recovery.