Man killed in St. Paul police-involved shooting, BCA investigating
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A man who was reported to be a wanted homicide suspect was killed in a shooting involving St. Paul police officers Saturday afternoon.
What we know
The scene of the shooting in St. Paul at Bay Street and Watson Avenue. (FOX 9)
According to the St. Paul Police Department (SPPD), just after 1 p.m. officers responded to the 1100 block of West Seventh Street after getting an anonymous report that a homicide suspect wanted by SPPD, Mychel Stowers, was on a bicycle at a laundromat in the area.
Officers arrived at the scene but waited to approach the business as they worked to find out if Stowers was inside the building. Police say they did not find a man at the business, so officers waited.
Later, a man approached the laundromat on a bicycle, and the anonymous caller then called back and said the man in front of the laundromat at the time was Stowers, authorities said.
Officers waited for the man to leave the business, and around 1:45 p.m., he rode his bike south on Bay Street to Watson Avenue. That's when officers "closed in" on him to determine if he was Stowers, law enforcement said.
As officers approached the man, he was armed with a handgun. Officers then fired their service weapons, hitting the man.
The man was taken to the hospital, where he later died.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) will investigate the incident, and the officers involved in the shooting have been placed on administrative leave.
According to St. Paul police, upwards of six officers are currently on leave, and are either officers who witnessed the shooting or discharged their weapons.
Why was Stowers wanted?
Stowers, 36, had a warrant out for his arrest nationwide after he was charged with the murder of his pregnant ex-wife, Damara Alexis Stowers, on Oct. 19 in St. Paul. Stowers was also charged with first-degree carjacking and second-degree assault for allegedly shooting a man in the leg and stealing his car, shortly after the murder, which took place just two blocks away.
Stowers had just been released from prison months before the deadly shooting of his ex-wife, after serving time on a 2008 murder conviction. He is charged with second-degree murder and murder of an unborn child in relation to the death of his pregnant ex-wife.
READ MORE: MN man shot pregnant ex-wife months after being released from prison: charges
What we don't know
The man who was killed was believed to be Stowers based on the anonymous caller's report, but the BCA will officially identify the man who was killed.
It is not known how many officers discharged their service weapons.