MAPLEWOOD, Minn. -- The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Maplewood police spent all day Saturday gathering evidence after police say a man was killed inside his home in Maplewood.
The shooting happened just before 5 a.m. Saturday on the 2200 block of Hazel Street in Maplewood.
Maplewood Police Chief Paul Schnell said police believe a male suspect forced his way into the home, had a brief verbal exchange with the victim and then fired one shot. It's unclear if there was more than one suspect.
The victim, who died at the scene, was found in a hallway inside the home. On Sunday, police identified the victim as 31-year-old Justin Wright.
Schnell said Wright's girlfriend, who had been in a bedroom, heard the brief verbal exchange, fled the home but did not see the gunman.
Police searched a large area with a K-9 unit but had no success finding the suspect.
A few hours later, a handgun was located in the driveway of a home just a couple blocks away. That home sits just across the street from the police station.
Police have not yet determined if the handgun and the homicide are related.
"We have no idea at this point in time if it's directly related, although it does appear to have… proximity and could be involved directly with the incident," Schnell said.
According to neighbor Carl Quist, Wright had lived in the home a few years.
"I know him. I've talked to him a couple of times. He just got -- he's got two daughters who just moved in with him recently. His girlfriend was with him. They were just starting to be a family. It was really too bad," Quist said.
Police said the children were not in the home during the shooting.
Schnell said police don't know the motive and don't have a suspect, but they do not believe the general public is at risk.
