A young woman was killed with at least 14 others who sustained injuries following a St. Paul, Minnesota shootout on Sunday, police said, adding that arrests were made against three men.
Arrested were 33-year-old Terry Lorenzo Brown Jr.; 29-year-old Devondre Trevon Phillips; and 32-year-old Jeffrey Orlando Hoffman who police, through social media, said “were involved in this morning’s homicide and shootings at a West Seventh Street bar.”
“They’re in custody and in the hospital, being treated for injuries suffered during the incident. Once they’re discharged, all three will be booked into the Ramsey City jail and await a charging decision. The case remains open and active. No further info is available at this time,” they said.
According to St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell, the victims were rushing to hide early on the day of the shooting.
“In an instant, they found themselves caught in a hellish situation,” the police chief said in a statement. “We have the best investigators in the country, and we won’t stop until we find the people responsible for this madness,” he added.
The police said they arrived at what they defined as a “chaotic scene” at 12:15 a.m., its statement said, adding that a woman in her 20s was found dead.
Fourteen others were wounded from the shooting. They were brought to the hospital and are in a non-life-threatening situation.
The statement furthered that the motive has not yet been determined.
“My heart breaks for the woman who was killed, her loved ones and everyone else who was in that bar this morning, Extell said.
The police chief also shared that he conversed with the family of the victim. They were “absolutely devastated,” he said, and vowed that the law enforcers “WILL bring justice” to what happened.
Meanwhile, Mayor Melvin Carter also expressed on social media the reaction of the community for what has transpired, NBC News reported.
“As our Saint Paul officers work to bring those responsible for these senseless acts into custody, our work to build more proactive and comprehensive public safety strategies is more urgent than ever,” Carter said. “We will never accept violence in our community.”