St. Paul police identify two men killed in weekend shooting
Updated: 6:40 p.m.
St. Paul authorities have identified two people shot and killed on Saturday, as some in the city call for more action to stop gun violence.
Police said Monday that 34-year-old Larry Jiles Jr. of Hugo and 37-year-old Troy Kennedy of St. Paul were killed in the 500 block of Dale Street North.
Police did not provide updates on the conditions of three other people injured, one critically, in the incident after a celebration of life event at an apartment building.
In a social media post, the Quad Area Chamber of Commerce, an organization supporting businesses in suburbs north and east of the Twin Cities, said Jiles was known as Chef Hot Hands and will be remembered for his “warm smile and passion for serving people.”
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“Larry was a lot of things to a lot of people. He brought energy and heart to this community along with his delicious food,” the post read.
Over the weekend, Mayor Melvin Carter and Gov. Tim Walz decried the violence at this event and at other times.
“I'm tired of doing funerals,” said Rev. Runney Patterson, Sr. of New Hope Baptist Church. “I want to go to graduations, I want to go to weddings, I want to go to celebrations.”
Patterson isn’t sure what caused the confrontation, but he said he’s been told there was a verbal argument before the shooting.
“I don't know what drives anybody to take the lives of anybody. I do know that our community is in a crisis,” he said. “I truly believe that starts back in the home with parents, fathers and mothers and grandparents and uncles and aunties, knowing what their child and their young people have been involved in and trying to encourage them not to rest in peace, but to live in peace.”