St. Paul police are investigating two shootings at separate gas stations in an 8-hour period from Monday evening to early Tuesday. A man sustained a life-threatening injury in one of the incidents.
Police were called to the BP station at University and Hamline avenues at 4:10 a.m. Tuesday, and found a 22-year-old man who was shot in the neck area and critically wounded, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman.
Paramedics took him to Regions Hospital.
UPDATE: Man shot at St. Paul gas station last week dies over weekend
Police have described the gas station as a “hot bed for criminal activity” in recent police reports.
On Monday at 8:15 p.m., about 2½ miles away, officers responded to a report of shots fired at the BP station at Como Avenue and Dale Street.
A sergeant found a man sitting down in the gas station’s parking lot with blood visible through his white T-shirt, according to a police report. The 20-year-old man was shot in the shoulder.
He told police he “was walking through the parking lot and he said an unknown suspect started shooting at him for no reason,” Ernster said.
Paramedics took him to Regions with an injury considered non-life threatening, according to police.
Police are investigating the circumstances of both shootings. It wasn’t known Tuesday whether they are related, Ernster said.
No one was under arrest in either case. Police are asking anyone with information to call them at 651-266-5650.
Officers have been paying extra attention to the BP at University and Hamline avenues during their patrols, according to police reports. An officer wrote in a report last week that there have been “large fights, narcotics, shots fired, noise disturbances and other quality of life issues.”
Police saw 10 to 15 cars pull into the gas station’s parking lot about 2:10 a.m. on June 9, for instance, but the crowd dispersed when officers arrived, the report said.
All BP stations in Minnesota are independently owned and operated. Managers at both stations were not available for comment Tuesday.
