St. Paul Police are investigating a homicide, pedestrian crash, and shooting all on Labor Day evening.
Dynasty Scott, 19, is in critical but stable condition after she was struck by a Mounds View driver on Snelling Avenue near the main gates of the State Fair. St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders says they have not been able to speak with her and are not privy to her exact injuries.
"Ms. Scott had gotten into a vehicle that was in the northbound lane of Snelling closest to the center line," Linders said. "She then got out of the vehicle on the right side into the other lane of traffic and that's when she was struck by a Mazda CX-5."
The driver is a 39-year-old man from Mounds View. He stopped when the collision occurred and called 911, but told dispatchers he was fearful when people began hitting and kicking his car. He was instructed to drive a short distance away and is cooperating with police. Initial breathalyzer tests did not show any signs of alcohol or impairment. The car was stopped when she got it in, but Linders said he wasn't sure if it was moving when she got out.
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"He has not been cited for any crimes," Linders said. "It does not look, at this point, that there was anything criminal. This is just a tragedy. A 19-year-old was struck by a vehicle and she's in grave condition."
Police believe some kind of altercation occurred before she was struck and are asking for the public's help in learning more about what led up to it. They've reviewed some video from social media but are looking for more.
As officers were diverting traffic due to the incident, three men were shot two blocks away and had non-life threatening injuries. Police say two guns were involved. No suspects are in custody, but a victim who was shot in the hand, 20-year-old Roman Prescott of St. Paul, was arrested on an outstanding warrant stemming from June for unlawfully being in possession of a firearm.
At Regions Hospital after midnight, a group of around three dozen people started to fight, and when they would not disperse, police officers used a chemical irritant. Three people were arrested on riot charges: 21-year-old and 19-year-old women and a 19-year-old man, all from St. Paul.
"Until we find out who's responsible for the shootings, we won't know for sure," if the crash and shootings are related, Linders said. "Until we can talk to Ms. Scott, who was struck, we won't know for sure. It's certainly possible, but the short answer is, we don't know right now."
Linders called the shooting "brazen," "lawless" and the suspect showed "no regard for human life."
"We don't know why someone would do brazenly shoot in an area with so many people around and so many officers around," Linders said. "It was a very busy time. The fair was just letting out. We has just had a pedestrian struck up the street. Our officers were blocking off Snelling. We had buses trying to get out there. We had people trying to go home. We had vehicle traffic. I can tell you this: the responsibility for this lies squarely in the lap of the people who pulled the trigger."
Earlier in the evening, a man was found shot on the eastside. He's been identified as 36-year-old Thomas R. Harrigan of St. Paul. He died at Regions Hospital and no arrests have been made. It's the city's 15th homicide this year.