Videos document frightening moments during St. Paul bar mass shooting
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Nearly two years ago, a gunfight inside a popular Saint Paul bar killed an innocent woman and left more than a dozen others inside Seventh Street Truck Park injured by flying bullets.
On Friday morning, one of the gunmen, Devondre Phillips will be sentenced for his role in the deadly shootout.
For the first time – FOX 9 can take you inside the bar at the time of the shooting to show both the chaos and the heroism that took place that night. A warning, some of the surveillance video contained in the attached clip may be difficult to watch.
Events unfolded late on a Saturday night, early Sunday morning, October 10, 2021. Truck Park on St. Paul's wildly popular 7th Street, a block or so from Xcel Energy Center is hopping, for some the first time out since the pandemic. The interior bar video captures the young crowd having fun, socializing, drinking and dancing.
Then all of a sudden, just after 12:15 a.m., it turns into sheer chaos. Gunfire erupts. There is a mad scramble, with terrified people running for the door, others take cover to protect themselves including Lindsey Trosdahl.
"I honestly just couldn’t believe it," Trosdahl told FOX 9 in the immediate aftermath. "I think I even said out loud like, ‘this isn’t happening.’ In half a second, I was on the ground with 10 shots going off."
In the barrage of gunfire, 14 people would suffer injuries including the men pulling the trigger. Tragically, Marquisha Wiley was shot in the back. Her family says, "KiKi" died in her brother’s arms there in the bar, her life cut short at the age of 27.
"You could have the worst day ever and all of a sudden, she just walks in the room and you are like ah, it’s KiKi, she just makes you happy. She is the girl that everybody wanted to be friends with," friend Marissa Ruiz told FOX 9 at a candlelight vigil following her death.
In the nearly two years since the deadly shooting, Ramsey County prosecutors have worked to hold the gunmen, Terry Brown and Devondre Phillips responsible for the devastating consequences. Authorities have described a beef between the pair and another buddy or two over a female family member, with allegations of domestic violence, and prior threats between the parties.
Truck Park’s surveillance video captured the entire incident from a number of angles giving jurors a crystal-clear picture of how the confrontation unfolded in close quarters in a packed bar. In one video clip, you can see Phillips wearing a ball cap with his back against what appears to be some boxes.
That is when one of Brown’s associates approaches. The first shot is fired by Phillips, who then makes a beeline towards the door when he appears to be intercepted by Brown. The two go toe-to-toe, each man was struck multiple times.
As for that gunfire, you can clearly see the muzzle flashes and several brave witnesses stepping up to save lives that night. One man wearing a Minnesota Vikings Jeff Gladney jersey is seen crouching, scanning the bar during the gunfire, and when he saw an opening, he pounced and began whaling on Brown with bar security in an effort to get the gun away from him.
With use of the videos, and often emotional, witness testimony in court, Brown and Phillips were each found guilty in separate trials on a myriad of murder and attempted murder counts. Each had blamed the other, claiming self-defense. Two juries did not buy it.
Phillips was found guilty on eight total counts of attempted murder for unloading his handgun that night. At sentencing on Friday, he could be looking at up to 102 years in prison if the judge sentences consecutively for each of the victims he injured. His attorney, John Lesch tells FOX 9, he will be asking for probation, arguing Phillips only opened fire to protect himself.