Watch CBS News

St. Paul Police: Woman Killed In University Avenue Shooting ID'd As Taquita D. Williams

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 20-year-old man has been charged with fatally shooting a woman early Wednesday morning following reports of disturbance a St. Paul bar.

The St. Paul Police Department says the shooting happened around 1:15 a.m., when officers were dispatched the Trend Bar, located on the 1500 block of University Avenue.

At the scene, police found several people outside the bar. They learned that a woman with an apparent gunshot wound was taken from the bar and brought to Regions Hospital, where she was pronounced dead.

As of 10:15 a.m. Wednesday, police say they 20-year-old Dominique DeAngelo Taylor into custody at Regions Hospital, and he has been booked at Ramsey County Jail on suspicion of murder.

On Thursday, the victim was identified as 25-year-old Taquita D. Williams, of St. Paul.

The criminal complaint against Taylor says that the bar's surveillance video shows Taylor and Williams "playfully interacting by jostling and shoving one another." The complaint says that Taylor stepped over the curb while holding Williams' arms, pulling her with him. That's when gunshots rang out, and Williams fell to the ground clutching her stomach.

Taylor was observed picking something up from the ground, which investigators later determined was a 0.35-caliber firearm.

Regions Hospital surveillance showed the vehicle Taylor rode in getting away from the scene of the shooting had dropped him off at the hospital, where officers located him. He told police that he was "too drunk" to stop the handgun from falling from his pants in the incident. He said, because he's a gang member, he didn't get rid of the handgun before heading to the hospital because he still needed it to protect himself.

Taylor, who has previous felony convictions that prevented him from possessing a firearm, had just been released from the Minnesota Department of Corrections at the start of May. He now faces charges of second-degree manslaughter and crime committed for the benefit of a gang.

According to police, this was the city's 17th homicide of the year. Last year at this time, the homicide count was at 12. Gun violence appears to be up in the capital city. Police say reports of shots fired are up 130% compared to last year, adding that nearly 100 people have been shot so far. St. Paul police say they are working to get a handle on the violence.

View CBS News In
CBS News App Open
Chrome Safari Continue
Be the first to know
Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting.