Suspect in Maplewood triple shooting pleads not guilty

A St. Paul man has pleaded not guilty in connection with a triple shooting that happened in August.

Court documents show Brendon Joseph Garza, 23, entered a not guilty plea toward three counts of attempted murder in the second degree. He also pleaded not guilty to one count of assault in the first degree (great bodily harm) and two counts of assault in the second degree (dangerous weapon).

Police say three victims — ages 12, 15 and 21 — all suffered gunshot wounds in the incident.

The shooting happened on the 400 block of McKnight Road S. at about 5 p.m. on Aug. 7.

Police said a fight broke out as families gathered at Regions Hospital, which led to a brief lockdown at the hospital.

A complaint states officers located a Chevrolet Camaro in the parking lot with an empty Glock gun case in the passenger seat, and 14 shell casings in the parking lot.

Footage of the incident showed the Camaro pulling into the parking lot and stopping in front of an Odyssey. Two juveniles went to the Odyssey, one carrying football equipment, when Garza and a man known as “Flip” got out of the Camaro, the complaint states.

According to the complaint, another person got out of the Odyssey and approached the Camaro before turning back and standing by the Odyssey. Garza then pointed a handgun at the person and fired.

After Garza fired, the person and the two boys fell to the ground and tried to take cover, the complaint states. “Flip” fled as Garza began shooting, and the man Garza fired at dropped a handgun on the sidewalk while scrambling to take cover. Garza then fled on foot, leaving the Camaro behind. It also states the two boys fled, the person Garza shot at got back into the Odyssey and the Odyssey left. A witness recovered the gun from the scene.

The complaint states Garza was later arrested and told officers, “I had to – it was self-defense.” Officers also recovered a Glock handgun from his pocket.

Officers located the two boys who were at the scene; one had a gunshot wound to his armpit and the other had a gunshot wound to his chest, the complaint states. They were taken to the hospital.

Another person drove the man Garza fired at to a hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds to his face, arm, legs and chest. The complaint also states that another person who was in the Camaro when the shooting happened confirmed to officers that Garza was the person who shot the victims.

In the complaint, officers wrote, “The conflict appears to be a social media dispute,” and that the people in the Camaro may have heard the person Garza shot at say something about a man named Aaron, who was the brother of “Flip” but died in a shooting two years ago.

One of the boys suffered a collapsed lung, and the other had numbness in his arm, which may be permanent according to the complaint.