Charges: St. Paul Man Invites 2 Back To Apt., Kills 1 & Injures Another

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A 29-year-old St. Paul man is accused of killing one person and severely injuring another after inviting them back to his apartment over the weekend.

Scott Alan Klund faces felony counts of second-degree murder and second-degree attempted murder in connection to the May 7 incident.

According to the criminal complaint filed in Ramsey County, Klund called police at 3:52 a.m. and reported that there was a man who had his throat cut and had been shot in the apartment, located on 250 Fifth Street East in St. Paul. When Klund was asked who shot the victim, he responded "I did" and laughed, and then apologized, when asked why.

Officers responded and heard someone inside the apartment unit cry out, ask for help and say "I'm dying. I'm dying." After officers' demands, Klund opened the door, but retreated back inside. The officers again demanded Klund to come out with his hands up, but he responded by saying "Come inside!"

Officers then made entry, smelled fresh gunpowder and immediately observed a closed second door to the left that had around 20 bullet holes in it with its center kicked in.

Around 15 feet into the apartment, Klund was lying on the floor on his left side looking at officers. He was then placed in handcuffs and when he was asked if he had been shot, he laughed and said, "I'm not the one who got shot."

Klund was then placed in a squad. He allegedly smiled and winked at the transporting officer before they left.

About 10 feet further past where Klund was lying, a 52-year-old woman -- identified as Charlotte Ann Rawls -- was lying face down on the living room floor, bleeding from her side and unresponsive. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Then, a 30-year-old man was located on the other side of the bullet-ridden bathroom door, suffering from several gunshot wounds. He was taken to the hospital.

After executing a search warrant on the apartment, officers recovered 30 spent shell casings, a black assault rifle on the bed with its breach open and its magazine empty. There were bullet holes in the wall just beyond where the woman was found. Three of the rounds went through the wall and struck a building across the street. There were at least 21 bullet holes in the bathroom door. Many of the rounds penetrated the wall opposite of the door and entered the apartment next door's bathroom. A closed black knife was recovered from the bathroom sink.

Authorities also say a framed honorable discharge from the United States Marines in Klund's name was found on the bedroom wall.

In an interview with police, Klund said he went to the bar and then stopped at a SuperAmerica, where he ran into a man who followed him up to his apartment. Klund said the guy took advantage of him by trying to take his work computer and other items. He said he began by using the least amount of force on the man as possible, but the situation escalated from there. He said he then fired a warning shot and then fired two rounds into the man's center mass, as he is trained to do, in order to stop the threat, the complaint said.

Klund then told the interviewing sergeant that things in the apartment "got strange and he was never once afraid." He said the man went into his bathroom, so he put two rounds through the door. He said he was "defending his own", and recalled sitting on the bathroom floor with the guy, who was afraid of dying. Klund said that he reassured the man he was not going to die and called 911.

When asked about the deceased woman, Klund allegedly laughed and said, "There was a girl in my apartment?" He later remembered and told the interviewing sergeant that he remembered seeing her by his entry door and thought she left. He did not recall shooting her.

Two days after the incident, when the male victim was able to be interviewed at the hospital, he picked out Klund as the man who shot him and his friend. He said he was at the gas station with his female friend, when Klund exited the store, approached them and introduced himself. They began conversing and Klund eventually invited them up to his apartment for a cigarette.

Inside the apartment, the victim said he was about to wipe off a glass with a towel in the bathroom when Klund shot him in his right forearm. He said he looked back and saw Klund in the bedroom loft area holding a black rifle. That's when the victim ran into the bathroom, closed the door and locked it. The victim said he heard seven or eight more shots and assumed Klund was firing at his friend, because the shots were not coming at or through the bathroom door.

Klund then told the victim to open the door, which the victim refused to do, so Klund began kicking at the door. The victim then jumped into the bathtub. He could not recall how many gun shots were fired, but said there were multiple. He was shot in the forearm and thigh. When Klund gained access to the bathroom, he allegedly cut the victim's face and throat with a black knife as the victim was lying face down in the tub. That's when the victim said he asked Klund to call 911, the complaint said.

The victim denied trying to take anything from Klund and that he had no idea why Klund had shot him. He said Klund refused to answer him when he asked why he had shot him, the complaint said. He was treated for gunshot wounds and lacerations to his throat and face.

According to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner, the deceased female victim had a graze-type wound to her scalp and a penetrating gunshot wound to her upper left arm and thorax. The bullet caused extensive damage to her heart and lungs.

If convicted, Klund faces up to 40 years in prison for his murder charge and up to 20 years for his attempted murder charge.

Klund served in the U.S. Marine Corps, and was deployed to Afghanistan in 2008. He was discharged in 2011.