Three slain in the metro through the New Year night
Updated: 6:43 p.m.
Three deaths that occurred within 11 hours are under investigation by Minneapolis and St. Paul police departments.
A fatal shooting of a woman occured around 6:30 p.m. in Minneapolis, followed by a shooting death just after 2 a.m. in St. Paul, and a stabbing death in Minneapolis just before 5 a.m.
The investigations come after a heightened homicide tally in 2019 for both cities. Last year, 30 people were slain in St. Paul, marking the highest number of killings since 1992. Minneapolis closed the year with 48 homicides.
“What we would like to think is that we can turn the page on what was a violent year and move on from there,” said St. Paul Police spokesperson Steve Linders, “but for us, the hard work of addressing violence related to guns doesn't begin or end at a calendar year."
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On Tuesday night, officials say Minneapolis officers found a woman with gunshot wounds in an alley in the 1300 block of Russell Avenue on the city’s north side around 6:38 p.m. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office later identified her as 28-year-old Monique Latrice Leanna Baugh.
Officers provided medical aid until they were relieved by paramedics. Baugh died shortly after being transported to North Memorial Medical Center.
No one is in custody at this time.
It was the 48th homicide in Minneapolis for 2019.
St. Paul Police said they are looking for the person responsible for the shooting death that occurred just after 2 a.m.
Officers found a man suffering from a gunshot wound sitting in the driver’s seat of a vehicle near the 900 block of University Avenue after callers reported shots fired.
Paramedics were unable to help the victim, who was pronounced dead without being transported to the hospital. It’s the first homicide of 2020 in St. Paul.
City officials ask that anyone with information regarding the incident call 651-266-5650.
Then at 4:54 a.m., Minneapolis officers were called to the area of Broadway and Freemont avenues on the city's north side, where two male stabbing victims were found inside a vehicle.
One of the men died at the scene. The other had non-life threatening injuries and was taken to North Memorial Medical Center.
So far, no suspects have been identified.