Five arrested, 3 charged in mass shooting near St. Paul's Grand Casino Arena, officials say

Five men were arrested Thursday, three of whom are facing criminal charges, in connection to what federal law enforcement says was "a rolling gun battle" earlier this month after a graduation ceremony in St. Paul, Minnesota.

The shooting occurred in downtown on May 4 near the 100 block of West Kellogg Boulevard following the ceremony at Grand Casino Arena. Responding officers heard "active gunfire" in multiple areas and eventually found two men with gunshot wounds that were not life-threatening.

On Thursday afternoon, St. Paul police say its officers and law enforcement partners executed search warrants in Brooklyn Park, Lakeville, Minnetonka and Prior Lake, making five arrests and recovering two rifles and two handguns. 

One of the handguns was equipped with an illegal "switch" or "auto sear," which turns a semi-automatic gun into a fully automatic one. In total, police say seven firearms have been recovered during the investigation.

The three men charged are set to make their first court appearances Friday morning. One of the men is charged with second-degree assault and second-degree riot; the second is charged with one count each of first- and second-degree assault as well as second-degree riot; and the third man faces one count of second-degree assault.

Police Chief Axel Henry said his department believes one of the men arrested was injured in the shooting.

"This is what you can expect when you commit crimes like this in St. Paul," said Police Chief Axel Henry, during a Thursday afternoon news conference. "We are going to track you down and we're going to hold you accountable for this. It's completely unacceptable."

Commander Nicole Peterson, who leads the department's Non-Fatal Shooting Unit, said the case was "extremely difficult to investigate."

"Multiple people were involved. Two different groups were fighting in front of the [Saint Paul RiverCentre] and it led to obviously the shots being fired," Peterson said. "So a lot of video evidence was analyzed, a lot of cellphone data, quite a few different pieces were brought together."

Mayor Kaohly Her released a statement Thursday hailing the police department, and Peterson's unit in particular, for closing in on the suspects. She also called on lawmakers to establish funding for similar law enforcement units across the state.

"The individuals arrested today for violence in our city do not reside here, yet our city is still responsible for conducting the investigation and bringing them to justice," Her said. "Next legislative session, I hope to see our state invest in expanding this program beyond Ramsey County and St. Paul to help interrupt violence before it happens and reaches our communities."

The city has also set up a Dropbox for the public to share videos of the shooting in hopes of boosting prosecution and preventing further violence.