15 shot, 1 killed after ‘hellish’ shootout erupts in crowded bar, Minnesota police say

Update: Three suspects have been arrested in connection to the early morning shootout, St. Paul police Chief Todd Axtell said.

The suspects, all men, are currently being treated for injuries at a hospital. There names have not been released.

Original story: At least 15 people were shot, one woman fatally, after a shootout erupted inside a packed bar in St. Paul, Minnesota, early Sunday morning, police told local outlets.

According to police, multiple people pulled out guns and began firing at each other at the Seventh Street Truck Park bar shortly after midnight, and many patrons were caught in the crossfire, KSTP reported.

Calls to 911 flooded in, with callers “frantically” begging for help, according to the outlet, and police arrived to find a “hellish” scene.

“There were gunshot wound victims lying in the street outside the bar … gunshot wound victims lying on the sidewalk … gunshot wound victims lying on the floor inside,” Steve Linders, a St. Paul Police Department spokesman, told KSTP.

Police said Good Samaritans stepped in to help police tend to the injured while paramedics made their way to the bar, WCCO reported.

One woman in her 20’s was killed in the shooting, the station reported. The 14 other victims are all expected to survive.

“I can only describe it as hellish,” Linders told the outlet. “I think about the young woman who died. One minute she’s having a good time, the next minute she’s lying in her friends’ arms who are trying to save her life, and she didn’t make it. I can’t think of anything worse.”

So far, no arrests have been made, the Star Tribune reported. Police did not indicate what led to the shootout.

Chief of Police Todd Axtell said an investigation has been launched.

“My heart breaks for the woman who was killed, her loved ones and everyone else who was in that bar this morning,” Axtell said, the Tribune reported. “I want them to know that we have the best investigators in the country, and we won’t stop until we find the people responsible for this madness. We will do our part to hold them accountable.”

This story was originally published October 10, 2021 at 9:35 AM.