Arrests made in shootings near St. Paul Green Line station

Updated 5:17 p.m. | Posted 3:14 p.m.

St. Paul police officials say a 23-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a homicide Monday afternoon in a residential area not far from Dale Street and University Avenue.

Public records show the man, who was convicted last year of carrying a weapon without a permit, was booked into the Ramsey County jail around 9:30 p.m. Monday.

The shooting victim was later identified as Rondell Quantrell Dunn, 25, of St. Paul.

It was the second arrest made in a series of incidents in the area near the Dale Street Green Line station in St. Paul.

Earlier in the day, Metro Transit police, working with St. Paul police officers arrested an 18-year-old man in connection with a shooting Monday close to the Dale Street stop.

The man was arrested overnight; an adult male injured in the shooting is expected to survive, Metro Transit police spokesperson Howie Padilla said.

Metro Transit officers are keeping a high profile on and near the trains, he added.

"We know that our riders are hearing reports of (a shooting) and some maybe even saw some of what happened. We want to make sure that they know that their safety is at the top of our priority list," Padilla said.

Police officials have said they don't believe the Monday shootings are connected, but both are still under investigation.

There was more gunfire Monday night near a vigil for Dunn. No one was hit in that attack. Police haven't detailed what could've motivated that shooting.

However, St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders said that, generally speaking, many shootings are committed by mostly young people who choose to use guns to settle their disputes.

Linders couldn't say the shootings had anything to do with gang disputes. In the past, there have been gang feuds that have fueled rashes of gun violence. In 2015, there was an outbreak of violence between some smaller gang, referred to as cliques.

There have been similar feuds in Minneapolis that have lead to other violent upticks.

St. Paul has seen about a 75 percent increase in shots-fired calls compared to the same period last year, Linders said, with at least 42 people hurt or killed by gunfire.

St. Paul has also passed Minneapolis in the number of homicides that have been committed so far this year. There have been nine in St. Paul compared to seven so far in Minneapolis. Three of the St. Paul homicides stemmed from one incident earlier this month in which three people were shot to death in an apparent murder-suicide.

Minneapolis has had more people hurt by gunfire so far this year than St. Paul.

Correction (April 18, 2017): A previous version of this story inaccurately categorized the shots-fired call increase.