ST. PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul police officers responding to a report of a violent domestic situation fatally shot a Chicago-area man on Wednesday, authorities said.
The Ramsey County medical examiner said Cordale Quinn Handy, 29, of Waukegan, Ill., died of multiple gunshot wounds.
Three officers were called to an apartment building in St. Paul’s Dayton’s Bluff neighborhood about 2:30 a.m. because of a domestic situation that involved physical violence, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said. Officers encountered Handy in the street and, at some point, two officers fired their guns, striking Handy, who died at the scene. No officers were hurt.
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is leading the investigation, recovered a firearm outside of the apartment building and spent shell casings inside the apartment.
Three St. Paul police officers are on standard administrative leave, said the BCA, which is investigating the shooting. Their names and other details were not released.
De’Andre Gatewood, who heard the incident, said a woman screamed: “He’s trying to kill me.” While officers were there, Gatewood said the woman shouted that the gun wasn’t loaded and she told the man to put it down, the Minneapolis Star Tribune reported.
Melissa Nielsen, who lives on the same floor, described Handy and his girlfriend as a quiet couple who kept to themselves.
“They’ve been nothing but nice to me,” Nielsen said. “They’re nice to all of their neighbors.”
In a statement, Police Chief Todd Axtell said “no one at the St. Paul Police Department takes pleasure in having to use deadly force.”
