Man Fatally Shot On Downtown St. Paul LRT Platform; 2 Others Killed In Separate Shootings

ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- Three men are dead following a series of separate shootings in St. Paul over a six-hour period, with one of them temporarily closing the downtown light rail station Friday morning.

In the first incident, a man was shot and killed near the intersection of Maryland Avenue West and Matilda Street around 10:30 p.m. Thursday. Police received multiple calls from neighbors about hearing the gunshot. The victim -- 22-year-old Tylor Butterfly -- was pronounced dead at the scene.

Police are asking for the public's help with that case because they don't have a lot of information to go on.

The second shooting happened on the 400 block of Sherburne Avenue, which is near the first shooting's location. Police say a man -- later identified as Tristan Trice, 38 -- was shot and rushed to Regions hospital where he died during surgery, and a 28-year-old woman was taken into custody. According to police, the shooting happened during a domestic dispute.

Then, Metro Transit said a shooting was reported at 4:30 a.m. at the METRO Green Line's Central Station in downtown St. Paul. Police responded and found a man with gunshot wounds on the platform. He was pronounced dead on the scene. Police are looking for a suspect.

Central Station was closed during the investigation. Service resumed shortly before 10:30 a.m.

The investigation continues into all three shootings.

More From Pauleen Le (6:50 a.m.)

Ricky says he was at the Central Station for the light rail green line around 3:30 a.m. Friday when shots rang out.

"The man was just sitting out here minding his business and some young jitterbug came up and got mad about something, and he just started shooting everywhere," said Ricky, who didn't want to share his last name, "I jumped up over the wall, got up out of there and went for cover."

Metro Transit Police say they found a man on the platform suffering from gun shot wounds, and tried to save him, but he died on the scene.

"It's crazy, that man didn't deserve that," said Ricky.

The Green Line Central platform was closed for about five hours Friday morning, surrounded by crime scene tape. It re-opened for use around 10:30 a.m., but it impacted several commuters, including Neal Bugella.

"I was a little upset, but i'll get to work," said Bugella, who walked to a nearby LRT station to catch the train.

Bugella said he wasn't surprise to show up to see crime scene tape and a heavy police presence at this LRT station.

"There's a lot of drug selling, there's a lot of violence," said Bugella.

Of the three homicides last night, police have only made one arrest. They booked a woman in the domestic homicide. Police do not think the other two are connected.

There have now been 18 homicides in St. Paul, compared to 12 this time last year.

"A very sad night for St. Paul," said Steve Linders, with SPPD. "Summer is just starting and we're already seeing an increase in violent crimes."