Frigid temperatures this weekend prompt cold weather advisories

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

A series of attacks with stun guns in St. Paul have police warning residents to take precautions, and asking for information in helping them catch the people responsible.

The department said there were three separate attacks with stun guns and assaults in the Como and East Side neighborhoods Saturday and Monday.

At 9 p.m. Saturday, a 61-year-old man out for a walk was attacked near the intersection of Lexington Parkway and Montana Avenue. He told police several men approached him on foot and assaulted him with a stun gun, taking his car and apartment keys.

On Monday at 8:30 p.m. a 23-year-old man riding a bike on the 1500 block of Mississippi Street on the East Side was knocked off his bike by a car. The men in the car then jumped out, attacked him with a stun gun, punched him several times and took his phone.

Just 40 minutes later a 23-year-old woman out jogging was attacked on the 1400 block of Como Avenue. She was pushed to the ground and attacked with a stun gun. She screamed and the men who attacked her ran away.

St. Paul police spokesperson Sgt. Mike Ernster said that in all three cases, the victims weren't able to identify or get a good look at the suspects.

"Unfortunately, none of these victims were able to provide us with a detailed description of the suspects," he said. "But in all three cases, the assaults involved a stun gun and male suspects who either were wearing masks or had hooded sweatshirts pulled tight around their faces."


He said the victim on the bike said the vehicle the men were driving was green.


Ernster said the department has increased patrols in the areas where the incidents occurred. He said investigators are seeking any information that can help them find the suspects and they are also searching for any video footage that might help identify them.


He also warned residents to take precautions.


"We don't want to see more victims. We have three attacks in roughly two calendar days and we don't want to see a fourth," he said. "So we're out here telling people to aware of their surroundings, walk with a companion, work together to keep each other safe."

Crime, Law and Justice

NewsPartners

Peter Cox

Author

St. Paul police said there were three separate attacks with stun guns and assaults in the Como and East Side neighborhoods Saturday and Monday.

St. Paul Police Department spokesperson Sgt. Mike Ernster

Stun gun attacks have St. Paul police urging caution

Go Deeper.

Like this?