Three teens charged in attack at St. Paul light rail station

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office said Monday that a Metro Transit Police Department investigation found no indication that an attack last week against a woman at a St. Paul light rail station was racially motivated.

Three 15-year-old boys were arrested and charged with aiding and abetting both gross misdemeanor harassment with intent to injure and fifth-degree misdemeanor assault in connection with the case.

The incident was never reported, but cameras at the train platform caught the incident early in the morning of May 4. In the video, two young men appear to be taunting the woman, who is alone. Suddenly, one of the young men leaps into the air and kicks the woman in the face. The men laugh, and one can be seen running away as the video ends. 

Authorities say the woman wasn’t seriously hurt enough to warrant felony charges according to police reports. 

She appears to be an older Asian American woman, which prompted national attention at a time when some reported racially motivated attacks apparently inspired by COVID-19. China was the first country to report a cluster of cases, later identified as infections caused by the new coronavirus, according to the World Health Organization. 

The Ramsey County Attorney’s Office says each of the three boys made their initial appearance in Ramsey County Juvenile Court Monday afternoon. Due to their ages, authorities say they can’t release their names under Minnesota law.

A spokesperson for the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office said the victim had been located and interviewed, but he offered no further information.

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