Man arrested for Friday night shooting at St. Paul gas station

Josh Skluzacek
[KSTP]

A Minneapolis man has been arrested in connection to the shooting death of another man at a St. Paul gas station Friday night.

St. Paul police said 22-year-old Ts'John T. Reed was arrested Saturday on suspicion of murder.

Police say Reed is suspected of killing 28-year-old Darius K. Van inside a gas station on the 1100 block of Maryland Avenue.

Officers responded to the gas station at about 9:15 p.m. Friday on reports of shots fired and a person down at the gas station. When they arrived, Van was found lying on the floor. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

2 killed in separate St. Paul shootings

According to a criminal complaint, while officers were investigating the shooting dispatch was notified that the shooter, Reed, was at his mother's house and wanted to turn himself in. Officers went to the house and took Reed into custody.

A witness told police she was at the store with a friend to get food when suddenly Van and Reed were in each other's faces. Reed then back up, showed a gun and said "we can do this," the complaint states. The witness said she ran to the front of the store and told employees to call police. She then saw her friend between Reed and Van, and the two men then went outside. The witness said she then ran to her car to charge her phone to call 911 and then heard gunshots and saw Reed leave in his car.

Another witness told police the argument started because Van tried to rejoin the checkout line in the place he'd left a short time earlier. That's when Reed allegedly pulled out a handgun, pointed it at Van and said, "These bullets work. I'll be out by the time I'm 40. I'll kill you. I don't give a [expletive]."

The complaint states that witness then got in between the two but the two went outside. The witness said Van then pushed her aside and ran at Reed for what she thought was to disarm Reed, but Reed fired and the witness said she fled to call police.

An employee that was working at the time also talked to police. The employee said he heard an argument and then heard Reed say he had a gun and would shoot Van and kill people in the store. The employee said Reed was a lot smaller than Van and heard Van tell Reed to come outside. The employee said he then told a co-worker to push the panic button and stay down while he quietly told people in the store to leave. He then heard two gunshots.

Police reviewed surveillance video and noted Reed had a gun in each hand, then at one point raised and pointed a gun at Van, who was still surrounded by other people in the store. When Van turned around and quickly moved toward Reed, blood spatter is seen hitting the floor in the video.

Reed later told police Van cut in front of him in line at the store. When Van rushed him, Reed said the gun went off, and as Van tried to grab Reed and his gun it went off again. Reed also told police he felt his life was in danger because Van wanted to fight outside, the complaint states. The complaint also states Reed told officers he felt he couldn't leave because Van was by the door, and he felt outnumbered because Van was bigger and older than him. He also said carrying a gun made him feel in control but agreed he lost control during this particular situation. After the shooting, he fled the scene because he was scared, even though he knew he was supposed to stay.

Reed is charged with second-degree murder.