Man charged after arrest in St. Louis County following a triple homicide in St. Paul

Following the discovery of three shooting victims inside an apartment complex leasing office late Monday afternoon in the Highland Park neighborhood, the Ramsey County Attorney’s office charged Tsegaab Binessu with three counts of murder in the 2nd Degree.

The 30-year-old Binessu was tracked down overnight in Virginia, Minnesota, nearly three hours away. He was arrested by St. Louis County sheriff's deputies.

"This shocking act of violence has shaken our community, and we thank the Saint Paul Police Department and other assisting police agencies for their quick work to bring the suspect into custody," announced Ramsey County Attorney John Choi. "Our hearts go out to the family and friends of the three victims who lost their lives, and we will do everything in our power to hold the accused accountable and seek justice for our community and victims."

According to the criminal complaint, investigators say Binessu shot three employees of the apartment complex inside the leasing office multiple times.

Apartment staff told investigators Binessu had called the office earlier in the day to cancel his $65 parking contract, but became upset when he was told that wasn't possible. Binessu said he was going to come to the office to talk about the situation in-person.

The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office has identified the victims as 25-year-old Nansi Fuentes Zambrano, 56-year-old Dena Silcox, and 43-year-old Adam Wilwerding.

Police have since returned Binessu to St. Paul where he is being held on suspicion of murder. He is expected to make his first court appearance Wednesday morning.

"This is an unbelievably big tragedy for our city and it will not be accepted," said St. Paul Police Chief Axel Henry said Monday night. "Secondly, I want to recognize and thank all the citizens and first responders who responded to the shots fired, and helped us bring some safety to the scene."

Police initially responded at 4:10 p.m. Monday to a report of shots fired on the 1500 block of St. Paul Avenue. They began evacuating residents from the apartment complex after locating the victims.

"Unfortunately found three people deceased inside of the apartment complex leasing office area, the apartment was evacuated to ensure the safety of others that were still in that building," St. Paul Police public information officer Nikki Muehlhausen says.

The deaths marked St. Paul's ninth, tenth and 11th homicides of the year.