St. Paul shooting leaves member of Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative dead

St. Paul shooting leaves member of Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative dead

St. Paul shooting leaves member of Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative dead

A woman is dead after a shooting in St. Paul’s Lowertown neighborhood on Wednesday evening.

Officers were called to the 200 block of Kellogg Boulevard East around 5:20 p.m. on a report of a shooting.

There, they found a woman injured by gunfire. She died at the scene.

Law enforcement says it is unknown if the victim and shooter were known to each other or if the shooting was random.

“Everybody wants answers. We want those answers also, but they take time,” said Sgt. Mike Ernster of the St. Paul Police Department.

While the identity of the victim has not yet been released, the Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative issued a statement overnight, saying one of their members was fatally shot while working on an art project outside of its building. The group is asking for its friends and neighbors to “not speculate about the situation. Our community is in shock and grief as we grapple with the unimaginable.”

5 EYEWITNESS NEWS spoke with members of the Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative, who stated that about five other artists were at the location at the time of the shooting. They added that the victim was a newer member of the co-op and had become a “beloved member” of the group.

The victim, who members say was a “really sparkly person,” was reportedly a textile artist who worked with fabrics and was very excited for what would have been her second art crawl.

The co-op states they will likely plan their own private vigil and expect city leaders to be more involved in planning a larger community vigil.

Police say the suspect left the area of the shooting in a vehicle. Law enforcement is asking anyone with any information on the suspect or what led up to the shooting to contact them at (651)-266-5650.

This is the 19th homicide in St. Paul this year. Police say the shooting has shaken the sense of security in the neighborhood.