ST PAUL, Minn. — A man is hospitalized in critical condition after being shot by police in St. Paul Monday evening.
St. Paul police spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster met with reporters overnight Monday to detail the incident, which began just before 7:45 p.m. Officers were dispatched to the 400 block of Pierce Street on reports of shots fired. Responding squads encountered a man with a handgun near Snelling and Charles Avenues.
Ernster said when officers approached the man put the gun to his own head and police began to negotiate with the man for a peaceful surrender. He reportedly refused to drop the weapon, instead walking south on Snelling Avenue.
The armed man reached the intersection of Snelling and University Ave., an area that Ernster noted has a high volume of both vehicle and pedestrian traffic. As the man walked around the intersection, officers fired "less lethal" rounds in an effort to end the situation, but Ernster said they were ineffective. Eventually, officers said, the man lifted the handgun and pointed it at law enforcement and multiple officers fired their weapons, hitting the suspect.
First responders immediately began life-saving efforts, Ernster said, and the man was taken to Regions Hospital where he is listed in critical condition. He is still hospitalized as of Tuesday morning.
Sgt. Ernster told reporters that all officers on the scene were wearing body cameras activated during the incident. That videotape will be handed over to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA), which will handle the investigation.
All the officers who discharged their weapons have been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation.