A shooting in St. Paul’s Dayton’s Bluff left one man dead and another injured Sunday night.
Officers were called to the St. Paul Saloon on Hudson Road near Earl Street about 11:30 p.m. on a report of shots fired and two people injured. Police found two men outside the bar with apparent gunshot wounds.
Paramedics took the men to Regions Hospital, where one was pronounced dead. The other was still being treated for his injuries, police said Monday.
Homicide investigators are working to determine what led to the shooting, but it’s not believed to have been random, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman. No one was under arrest as of Monday and police released no suspect information.
Police are trying to determine where the men were before the shooting, Ernster said. Officers have not been called to the St. Paul Saloon for any major incidents in the past six months, he said.
The Ramsey County medical examiner’s office will confirm the homicide victim’s identity. His death is the second homicide of the year in St. Paul.
The bar is required to have security cameras inside and outside and to provide recordings to police if they’re requested, according to the liquor license conditions. The video requirements were initially put in place because of previous problems at the bar, according to St. Paul Department of Safety and Inspections spokesman Robert Humphrey.
The city also requires the bar to have security staff working from 9:30 p.m. until close each night.
Ernster said he didn’t know whether the shooting was captured on video, but he said investigators have been “looking at any opportunity to gather information in relation to this incident.”
The St. Paul Saloon has been under new ownership since August, according to DSI.
Police reports show a series of incidents around the bar under previous ownership.
Last January, police were called to Cypress Street and Hudson Road on a report of a man who was assaulted by about 60 Hells Outcasts members at a bar near the intersection, a police report said.
Officers could not find the victim, but “walked in on a very heated argument between a male behind the (St. Paul Saloon) and approximately 15-20 people in Hells Outcasts” colors, the report said.
In February, police took a report of someone being stabbed in the leg outside the St. Paul Saloon.
In April, DSI told the bar to cease operations immediately after the previous owner relinquished his liquor license to the city, Humphrey said.
The bar re-opened last year with Alex Rivero as the owner, a move that the Dayton’s Bluff Community Council previously expressed support for in a letter to DSI. Rivero could not be reached for comment Monday.
Council Member Jane Prince, who represents the area, held her annual fundraiser at the St. Paul Saloon in November.
“More than a fundraiser, this event is a celebration of a business owner who is turning a local establishment around on St. Paul’s East Side,” said the event description on the Jane Prince for St. Paul’s Ward 7 Facebook page. “Alex grew up in Dayton’s Bluff and ‘grew up on parks and rec.’ Beyond making the St. Paul Saloon a great gathering spot, he wants to support and grow neighborhood recreation opportunities for kids.”