Axtell: more than 50 people injured in shootings so far in 2017

St. Paul police chief Todd Axtell Friday gave a grim assessment of how of gun violence has rocked the city so far this year.

"We have over 50 people that have been injured by gunfire since the first of the year," said Axtell standing near a makeshift memorial to the city's most recent homicide victim, 25-year-old Rondell Dunn. "To put that into perspective, we're talking about one person being shot in this city every other day."

Axtell added that seven of the nine homicides involved firearms. In the last week, two people have died in shootings and one person has been wounded.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office Friday charged Isaiah Charles Bracy, 18, with two counts of felony assault with a dangerous weapon in connection with a rush hour shooting at the Green Line's Dale Street station. One man, an apparent bystander, was injured.

The chief stood alongside Mayor Chris Coleman, Metro Transit Police Chief John Harrington, as well as members of the NAACP, the Black Ministerial Alliance and the African American Leadership Council.

Diane Binns, president of the St. Paul NAACP, said when her children were teenagers, she searched their rooms.

Binns urged parents to ask for help if they suspect their kids are getting into trouble.

"Anybody, [if] you need to get rid of a gun or something's going on with your child, or you know something's going on with someone else's child, call any of us standing up here," said Binns. "And we'll be there day or night."

Binns said the NAACP plans to start de-escalation training for those whose family members experience mental health crises. She said it's important to be able to calm the situation before calling the police.

Police officials say they have responded to the uptick in gun violence with a number of initiatives including increased enforcement in problem areas.

The initiatives come at the end of a week that saw two daylight shootings.

In the Green Line incident, prosecutors say Bracy was recorded by a security camera shooting a gun at someone else on the Dale Street platform.

The train operator told police that as the train approached the station she could see a group of young men standing near the corner of Dale and University making signals that looked to her like gang signs.

In 2016, Bracy was convicted of carrying a pistol without a permit. As a part of the conditions of his probation, Bracy was instructed to avoid contact with any gang members. He was arrested earlier this week during a scheduled meeting with his probation officer.

The office has not made a decision yet on whether to charge a man arrested in connection with Dunn's death.