Homicides in Twin Cities mark violent start to New Year
A woman died in a shooting in north Minneapolis on New Year's Eve. (FOX 9)
(FOX 9) - Three homicides in the Twin Cities marked an end to a violent 2019 and an inauspicious start to the New Year.
2019 saw St. Paul double its murders from the previous year with 30 deaths while Minneapolis dealt with 48 killings, with the final death coming hours before the end of the year.
"Just terrible," recounted Anthony Machette, who lives near the Minneapolis shooting scene. "This is very, very terrible. My children were playing in the yard less than an hour before it happened.”
Machette was making his children dinner when he noticed a lot of police activity outside his window in the back alley near 13th and Russell.
"It's crazy," said Machette. "I've been here 35 years but when it happens in your own backyard, it's disturbing."
Family members tell FOX 9, the victim, Monique Baugh, was a mother of two little girls and a successful real estate agent with Kris Lindahl Real Estate.
In a statement to FOX 9, Kris Lindahl said: "Monique has been a part of our team for almost a year. She made a big impact on us during that time. She was a beautiful person who was kind and compassionate to everyone. She was very driven and was a joy to work with. Monique was a loving mother who always put her children first. Our entire team is grieving her loss, and our thoughts and prayers are with her family during this incredibly difficult time.”
Hours later, Minneapolis police were called to a fatal stabbing near Broadway and Fremont where an adult male died. Then across the river, St. Paul responded to their first homicide of 2020 outside Johnny Baby's -- a bar in the 900 block of University Avenue West.
"This is our first homicide of 2020 but sadly we are well-versed in investigating these types of incidents because last year we had 30 and what we’d like to think is that we could turn the page on what was a violent year," said St. Paul police spokesperson Steve Linders.
And Minneapolis Police tell us there have been no arrests yet in the young mother's murder, but they are actively investigating many different angles.