One night before St. Paul mass shooting, Sheriff Fletcher predicted shooting

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - The night before a shooting at a St. Paul bar left more than a dozen people hurt and one person dead, Sheriff Bob Fletcher had a feeling something bad was going to happen.

Before the police and medics were called on Saturday night, the bar and sidewalk outside the Seventh Street Truck Park was packed and looked very similar to the way it looked Friday night when Sheriff Fletcher pulled up for his livestream "Live on Patrol."

Ramsey County Sheriff predicts shooting at St. Paul bar

A night before shots rang out at a St. Paul bar, leaving one person dead and 14 injured, Ramsey Sheriff Bob Fletcher had a feeling there was going to be trouble at the bar.

Sheriff Fletcher says he stops by a lot because the crowd has changed lately. And on Friday, he actually predicted a future shooting at the bar.

"Quite the gathering here at the Truck Park," Fletcher said on his livestream. "Holy mackerel. This is a lot of folks. We’ve never had any shots fired right here. I hope we never do, but this volume at some point it’s gonna happen, right?"

He wasn’t surprised when the prediction came true a night later: Fourteen shot, one dead.

"It’s tough to describe but after 30-40 years in law enforcement, you get to read crowds and how they act towards you and how they act towards each other," Fletcher told FOX 9.

It’s been a heartbreaking and angry day for the city, the St. Paul mayor saying it’s been a tough few months.

"This summer has been really, really hard," Mayor Melvin Carter said. "As we’ve seen this national increase in gun violence strike really close to home here in St. Paul."

The mayor did say patrols in the area had been increased lately, but clearly, it wasn’t enough for last night’s horrific shooting.

"We had other people who decided to pull guns with reckless disregard for human life and pulled the trigger over and over and over and over again. And it ended in tragedy," St. Paul Police spokesperson Steve Linders said. "Our hearts break for the young woman who died and for her loved ones, and for everybody who was in that bar."

Witnesses recall bystanders trying to help woman killed in St. Paul bar shooting

Witnesses tell FOX 9 what they saw as the shooting unfolded at downtown St. Paul bar early Sunday morning.

Three people are in custody for the shooting. It’s unclear if police are looking for more people. The sheriff indicated Sunday the shooting did not appear to be gang-related.

"My condolences go out to all of these victims and the family of the young woman who lost her life," St. Paul City Councilmember Jane Prince said. "I can’t believe this has happened. I can’t believe this has happened."

St. Paul Melvin Carter St. Paul Police Department