St. Paul police officer shoots man in apartment hallway during sexual assault response

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A St. Paul police officer responding to a 911 call of a sexual assault in-progress shot and wounded a man who they say charged out of an apartment into the hallway. 

The shooting happened early Saturday morning, Jan. 6, at an apartment building on the 400 block of Thomas Avenue West. The man shot by the officer is expected to survive. The woman who was inside the apartment was able to get out safely.

According to St. Paul police, the 911 call came in at 12:18 a.m. Saturday. The caller said a man was physically and sexually assaulting a woman while armed with a handgun. The caller said he could hear the woman screaming.   

Police say that officers arrived to find a man trying to exit the multi-unit apartment building through a back window. The officers outside of the building saw the man going back inside through the same window. Two officers inside the building were at the apartment door and were able to get the woman to safely exit the unit. 

St. Paul police say the officers called the suspect out of the apartment, at which point he "charged" out of the apartment at them, and shots were fired by one officer. The man was shot in the arm and called for St. Paul Fire medics to respond.

The injured man was taken to Regions Hospital by medics and is expected to survive. The woman involved was not injured in the shooting. St. Paul police told FOX 9 they do not have an updated condition on the female victim in this case. 

The officers involved in this incident were wearing body cameras that were activated. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate the shooting and review the bodycam video. It's still unclear if or when that footage will be released. 

The officers will be placed on administrative leave during the investigation.