Man killed by St. Paul police investigating domestic violence report identified
Updated: Oct. 6, 2:47 p.m. | Posted: Oct. 5, 7:10 p.m.
The man fatally shot by St. Paul Police officers last night has been identified by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner as 28-year-old Phumee Lee.
St. Paul police shot and killed Lee Thursday after responding to a violent domestic situation at a home in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood on the city's east side.
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It started when a woman called police around 6 p.m., saying that Lee had shot at her twice. The woman wasn't hurt, but as many as five children were inside the home with Lee during the shooting, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, who described it as a "very dangerous situation."
After talking with the woman down the block, officers made sure the children were safe, then began searching for Lee.
Kevin Banks, who lives nearby, said he saw officers in SWAT gear — shields, assault rifles, helmets — approach a house and yell for a man to "come out with your hands up."
Banks said he heard one shot, then a spurt of gunfire, followed by a few more rounds.
Paramedics immediately gave Lee aid, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. Ernster said a gun was found in the area.
No officers were injured. Several involved were wearing body cameras that were activated. It's not clear how many officers shot at Lee.
Neighbors reported seeing Lee's body lying in front of a home on the 1100 block of Euclid Street. Bridget Krieglmeier said bullets hit her car and a dog kennel in her husband's truck, parked in front of their home.
"My husband and I were in the kitchen, and we were just talking, and we weren't paying attention to what was going on outside," she said. "And there was like eight shots, and our dog was outside, and we heard him yelp, and we thought he got shot, because we didn't know what was going on."
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigators were on the scene Thursday night and are investigating the shooting.
Peter Cox, Tim Nelson, Nancy Lebens and Cody Nelson contributed to this story.