A call to police about a domestic incident on Monday night ended with a St. Paul officer fatally shooting the suspect, who police say was armed with a gun.
Just before, police said, officers saw him running and appear to try to carjack someone.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating, and agents could still be seen canvassing the Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood on Tuesday.
Police said officers’ body cameras were activated at the time, and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter said he is “committed to the release of body cam footage as quickly as possible.”
“There is much more to learn about this incident, and those answers will come,” Carter said in a statement. “I am working closely with Chief (Axel) Henry and the BCA to ensure a thorough, timely and transparent investigation will occur, as our community has agreed to engage in.”
Family members identified the man as Howard Johnson, 24. At a Tuesday night vigil at the scene of the shooting, people called for the immediate release of body camera footage and remembered Johnson.
“He loved everybody and everybody loved him,” said his mother, Monique Johnson, crying as she spoke. “I don’t understand why this had to happen to my child.”
Trahern Crews, co-founder and lead organizer of Black Lives Matter Minnesota, said they want to see body camera footage “to clear all doubts.”
“We should know exactly what happened so this family can be comforted, and if something went wrong then people need to be held accountable swiftly and immediately,” Crews said.
Domestic abuse call
Emergency radio transmissions indicate a woman called police Monday to report a man had just hit her. She said the man was Johnson, that he had an active warrant, and had a firearm with him. The warrant was for a Ramsey County felony domestic case, according to a police radio dispatch.
Johnson’s criminal history shows convictions in felony domestic abuse cases, including in 2020 and 2021 for domestic assault, violation of a domestic abuse no-contact order in 2020 and violating an order for protection in 2021. He was also convicted of felony fleeing from police in a vehicle in 2018, 2019 and 2020.
Officers responded to Earl Street and Hudson Road on a report of a “domestic incident” about 6:10 p.m. Monday, St. Paul police said in a statement.
Johnson had run away, leading police to set up a perimeter and search for him. The woman who initially contacted police reported that Johnson called her and said he was going to be “hunkered down somewhere” because he knew police were looking for him, according to an emergency radio dispatch.
Police, who haven’t officially identified the man, said in the statement they saw him running with a handgun in his hand. An officer reported he pointed the gun at them, according to emergency radio transmissions.
When police saw the man appear to attempt a carjacking on Hudson Road, officers drove up to the man and police believe they struck him with a squad car, the St. Paul police statement said.
“As the officers got out of their car, the man was standing with the gun in his hand and an officer fired multiple rounds, striking the man in the torso and leg,” the statement continued. “Officers immediately rendered aid to the man and called for St. Paul Fire medics.”
Paramedics took Johnson to Regions Hospital, where he later died.
The officer who shot Johnson and two other officers were put on administrative leave by the police department, which is standard procedure.
The BCA expects to release additional information on Wednesday or Thursday, according to a spokesperson.
Family remembers Johnson
There was blood in the street and medical supplies left behind when the family arrived Tuesday morning, according to an aunt, who said seeing it made her even more upset.
A member of the St. Paul police forensic services unit went out Tuesday morning to clean up and put sand over the blood, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a police spokesman.
“This was a regrettable oversight and should not have remained in that fashion,” he said. “We did not want that to be left for the family to have to see.”
Johnson’s relatives brought balloons and candles Tuesday to the spot where he was shot. They said he was a father of twins who are 4.
“His kids, when we ask them about their dad, you know what they say? ‘My dad got shot.’ How do you think that makes us feel as a family and there’s nothing we can do?,” said Juanita Lingwall, a cousin of Johnson’s.
People in area heard gunshots
Xai Vang was working at Mounds Liquor when he heard gunshots Monday night. He looked at video screens that show live surveillance footage from Hudson Street.
He thought at first someone could have fired shots from a passing vehicle, but didn’t know if anyone was injured.
“I heard some screaming and I thought, ‘Something might have happened,’” said Vang, who looked out a window. “I noticed police cars everywhere.”
He said he didn’t find out until later that an officer had shot someone.
Vang later watched the liquor store’s surveillance video with BCA agents, and provided the video to the BCA.
He said it appeared a vehicle was pulling out from the front of the St. Paul Saloon — which is next to the liquor store — when it stopped.
“I think the gentleman who was shot walked out in front (of the vehicle) and that’s when I saw the police car coming in,” he said, adding that it was dark in the video and difficult to tell what was happening. “… That’s when shots start ringing out.”
A nearby resident estimated hearing five to six shots. Vang, who is a former Marine, thinks he heard about eight gunshots.
The last fatal shooting by an officer in St. Paul happened in September 2019. Ronald Davis, 31, rear-ended an officer’s squad vehicle and then ran at him with a knife in the Midway area, body camera footage showed. The officer was not charged.
