Man charged in connection to threat that closed South St. Paul schools

UPDATE (March 20, 2026) — The 28-year-old man who was arrested in connection to making threats that led to the closure of all public schools in South St. Paul Wednesday now faces charges. Below is an updated version of the original story.

Police say it started with a 911 call overnight Wednesday in St. Paul, where "an individual involved, who had fled the scene prior to officers' arrival, had made a specific threat of violence against South St. Paul Public Schools, along with other offenses."

Charging documents say the man had gone over to a woman's home to get some of his belongings. Last December, he was served with an order for protection which prohibits him from having any contact with the woman or her child.

Documents say that the two started arguing and he told her "tomorrow when you take your son to school, I'm gonna show you, b*****. I'm going to shoot the f*** out of the school." The woman called police around five minutes later. 

South St. Paul students transitioned to E-learning Wednesday "out of an abundance of caution," district officials said.

Around 10:30 a.m., police say the suspect turned himself in at South St. Paul Police headquarters. In a post-Miranda interview, he said the woman threatened to go to his son's elementary school to hurt him. He denied threatening to shoot a school, charging documents say.

He was then "transferred to the custody of the St. Paul Police Department for continued investigation and transport to the Ramsey County Jail."

He was charged with making threats of violence and one count of domestic abuse.

This situation came just one day after Rosemount-Apple Valley-Eagan ISD 196 closed its 30-plus schools due to a threat that was eventually deemed not credible.

NOTE: The video attached to this article was published before the suspect's arrest.

For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.