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Man shot by St. Paul police charged with murder in encampment shooting

Earl Bennett, 40, faces three counts of second-degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed three people inside a tent at a Minneapolis encampment.

MINNEAPOLIS — The man shot by St. Paul police last week — after officials say he pointed a gun at officers — was charged with three counts of murder Monday in connection to a deadly shooting in October at a Minneapolis encampment. 

Earl Bennett, 40, faces three counts of second-degree murder after he allegedly shot and killed three people inside a tent at an encampment on the 4400 block of Snelling Avenue on Sunday, Oct. 27. Two of the victims died that day after being transported to a nearby hospital, and the third person died six days later, according to the criminal complaint.

Bennett was also charged with attempted first-degree murder after he allegedly shot a man in the neck inside a sober living facility on the 3500 block of Columbus Avenue on Monday, Oct. 28. The victim was transported to a hospital and is in critical condition.

“These were horrifying acts of violence,” Hennepin County Attorney Mary Moriarty said in a statement. “Mr. Bennett targeted vulnerable people and took the lives of three members of our community. My thoughts are with their loved ones. Our office will prosecute Mr. Bennett to bring appropriate accountability for his actions and to protect our community."

Bennett is currently in custody at Regions Hospital after he was shot by police Monday evening following a confrontation with police where he allegedly pointed a gun at officers. According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), the incident was captured on body cameras, dash cameras and nearby security cameras, but those videos have not yet been released to the public.

Police were called to the 400 block of Pierce Street in St. Paul just before 7:45 p.m. on Oct. 28 for reports of shots being fired in the area. When police arrived, they found Bennett walking around the area with a gun. At one point, when police approached him, he put the gun to his own head, according to St. Paul police spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster. 

Police began to negotiate with Bennett for a peaceful surrender, but he reportedly refused to drop the weapon and started walking in the middle of traffic on Snelling Avenue. Court documents say Bennett stopped in the middle of light rail tracks, and officers fired "non-lethal" rubber balls at him. Bennett then pointed the gun at police, according to charging documents, and officers responded by firing their weapons. Police recovered an unloaded 9mm handgun at the scene that prosecutors say was tied to the casings fired in Sunday's double fatal shooting.

Bennett was also charged in Ramsey County with illegally possessing a firearm and second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

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