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St. Paul police say a man was killed and a young child suffered a wound to his foot when they were shot in their vehicle Sunday on the city’s West Side.

Police dispatchers received multiple 911 calls reporting shots fired and a vehicle crash just after 5 PM.

Responding officers found an SUV on its roof in a parking lot on the 400 block of Wabasha Street. It wasn’t immediately clear to officers at the scene what caused the vehicle to overturn and crash, said police spokesman Mike Ernster.

“They located an adult male and a juvenile male in the vehicle. The adult male was suffering from a gunshot wound to his head. He was unconscious and breathing when officers found him. The second victim was a juvenile male, four years old, and he was suffering from a gunshot wound to his foot,” Ernster said.

Both victims were taken to Regions hospital. On Monday, police officials said that the father, who was 23-years-old, died from his injuries.

“Shootings affect everyone, and in this case, the shooting affected the most innocent among us, a small child,” Ernster said.

Police say it is the second time in six weeks a 4-year-old has suffered a gunshot wound St. Paul.

The shooting brings the total number of gunshot victims this year to 124. The father’s death marks the 23rd homicide in the city in 2019. Investigators did not have any suspects in custody in the hours immediately following the shooting. Police do not think the shooting was random, and say there may have been some connection between the people involved.

“What we do know is that people that are carrying guns in our city illegally are the ones most likely to be involved in shootings,” Ernster said. “What we need is the public’s help. If someone knows somebody who’s involved in carrying a gun illegally we want them to contact us, so we can hopefully get ahead of this violence.”

Correction (Oct. 7, 2019): An earlier version of this story incorrectly stated the block of Wabasha Street that officers found the SUV. The story has been updated.

Crime, Law and Justice

Tim Nelson

Author

Police say the two were wounded Sunday evening on the city’s West Side. They were found in an overturned vehicle. The man has since died from his injuries.

A police officer stands in front of yellow police tape

Tim Nelson | MPR News

St. Paul officers stand behind police tape facing away

Man, 4-year-old shot in St. Paul

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