A St. Paul woman accused of attempting to kill her boyfriend told police she acted in self-defense after he threatened her life, but video footage of the shooting tells another story, authorities say.
Tametria Shavondra Gillespie, 40, said she was driving with her boyfriend in Roseville about 10 p.m. Sunday when they started arguing about getting something to eat, according to a criminal complaint charging her with attempted murder filed Tuesday in Ramsey County District Court.
That’s when her boyfriend of 10 months started repeatedly striking her in the face and threatening to kill her, so she shot him, Gillespie told officers who showed up at Rice Street and Larpenteur Avenue after she called 911 to report the shooting.
Police arrived to find Gillespie’s boyfriend bleeding on the ground near a gray Honda Civic as Gillespie stood nearby with an injury to her lip. A black handgun was sitting on the trunk.
The man was taken by ambulance to Regions Hospital to be treated for gunshot wounds to his right arm and torso and remains in critical condition.
Video footage obtained of the incident tells more of the story, authorities say.
It shows Gillespie’s boyfriend walking on Larpenteur Avenue toward a driveway in the 1600 block of Rice Street as Gillespie’s Honda pulls into the driveway, stopping his path, the complaint said.
The footage then reportedly shows Gillespie get out of her vehicle and “strike or thrust” toward her boyfriend three times before he is seen falling to the ground.
Someone nearby told police he overheard a woman yelling, “Don’t put your hands on me,” before hearing a gunshot, according to the complaint.
Gillespie made her first appearance on the attempted second-degree murder charge on Tuesday afternoon. A judge set her bail at $500,000.
Gillespie has no prior criminal history in Minnesota.
