ST PAUL, Minn. — The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) confirmed Monday that a man fatally shot by police officers over the weekend in St. Paul was wanted in connection with the murder of his ex-wife and her unborn child.
Police arrived on the 1100 block of West 7th Street around 1:45 p.m. Saturday after a tip that 36-year-old Mychel Stowers was at a business there. Officers spotted a man who matched Stowers' description, followed him as he left on a bicycle and then converged on him as he reached the intersection of Watson Avenue and Bay Street.
Before police could officially confirm his identity, the BCA says Stowers pulled a handgun and pointed it at officers. Two St. Paul officers, identified Monday as Officer Eric Jaworski and Officer Matthew Foy, discharged their firearms and struck the suspect.
First responders attempted life-saving measures until an ambulance arrived and transported Stowers to Regions Hospital, where he died a short time later.
BCA's crime scene team recovered a firearm from the scene where Stowers was shot. The incident was captured on both squad and officer body cam video, and on a number of neighborhood security cameras.
Officers Jaworski and Foy both have 10 years of law enforcement experience. Both are on critical incident leave while the shooting is reviewed.
Stowers was wanted on murder charges in connection with a fatal shooting at 139 Sycamore St. E. on Oct. 19. Prosecutors say he was on work release from prison and staying in the apartment of his ex-wife, who was pregnant. Investigators believe he ran from the shooting scene and then shot a man a few blocks away at 99 Acker St. while trying to carjack him.
Police records show that a man claiming to be Stowers called the Ramsey County Sheriff's Department and claimed he was going to turn himself in for the shootings, but never did.
Minnesota Department of Corrections (DOC) records confirm Stowers was released from prison in March after serving time for another murder, was on work release and was supposed to be living at a halfway house. He had been granted a pass to visit his ex-wife at 139 Sycamore.
Saturday's shooting in the neighborhood off West 7th left residents shaken. They pointed out bullet holes in homes and fences and wondered aloud what else could have happened.
"From what we witnessed when it happened, there was no warning. There was no 'stop,' no 'police,' no nothing," said resident Cameron Kral. "What if there had been kids over there and they just opened fire? Or if it was this way and my son was outside?"