2 dead, homicide investigation underway in Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood

Police are investigating the circumstances surrounding the deaths of two people early Tuesday morning in the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood of St. Paul.

St. Paul Police Sgt. Mike Ernster says officers were called to Minnehaha Apartments, located near Birmingham Street and Minnehaha Avenue, at 5:43 a.m. on a report of a person who’d be shot.

When officers arrived, they found a woman inside an apartment suffering from an apparent gunshot wound. She was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

As officers secured the scene, Ernster says they found a man outside behind the building suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. He was also pronounced dead at the scene.

Ernster said officers haven’t yet determined if there is any connection between the two victims, but their deaths are being investigated as the city’s 11th and 12th homicides of the year.

Ernster noted that gunshot victims are down 31% and shots fired are down 44% in St. Paul this year compared to last year at this point. However, work continues to slow down gun violence crimes.

“So we have been very intentional about intervening in gun violence and identifying people who we believe could be involved in gun violence, reaching out to them and trying to do the hard work of working with them so that we can interrupt the cycle of violence,” Ernster said. “Unfortunately, there are still people that choose to reach for a gun to settle their differences and we’re working hard to stop that.”