One man is dead following a shooting that happened early New Year’s morning in St. Paul after police had been called to scene to help break up a party.
The first call came in just after 1:30 a.m., the caller asking police to remove a group of people from a party at a home in the 1600 block of Van Buren Ave., located in the Hamline-Midway neighborhood.
More calls came in about shots being fired, one of them from someone who said they were with an injured person.
That call abruptly ended.
The wounded man was taken to United Hospital by private vehicle, where he died a short time later.
”This was not the start to 2024 that we envisioned, or wanted,” said Sgt. Mike Ernster.
Dozens of markers were scattered in the street in front of the house, showing where investigators found bullet casings.
The house is located on the west side of Snelling Ave., just south of the Hamline University campus.
It’s not known what led to the shooting, or how people at the party knew each other.
Ernster said there are no arrests.
“I’ve been around 29 years, now,” he said. “We’ve had our share of incidents on New Year’s Day, I just don’t remember a situation similar to this or so soon after the first of the year.”
St. Paul’s first reported homicide of 2024 comes after there were 33 over the previous 12 months.
Ernster said at least three of those cases remain unsolved.