A St. Paul man, who had only been out of prison for a couple of months, is charged with attempted second-degree murder and possessing a machine gun after he allegedly shot at his mother last week on the city's east side, prompting a lockdown at nearby Metro State University.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office filed charges against the 22-year-old suspect one day after the shooting, which happened on the afternoon of May 1 in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood.

According to the complaint, the suspect and his mother separately told police they had an argument at their home, culminating with the woman telling her son to move out.

They told investigators the suspect left the house, and minutes later his mother pulled up beside him in a parking lot a couple blocks from their home off Sixth Street East and Maria Avenue, directly across the street from the university's main building.

The two started arguing again, the complaint states, with both saying the mother told her son not to return home. The suspect told investigators he then "blacked out," and fired nearly a dozen rounds at her SUV.

The woman told police she then drove home, and her son said he followed to check if she had been injured. Officers arrived soon after to find the two arguing again, and took the man into custody. 

A K-9 found the gun, which police say was modified with a "trigger activator," inside their backyard grill, according to the complaint. The suspect allegedly admitted it was his weapon.

Officers at the scene noted the woman's SUV had "a shattered rear window, a broken rear driver's side window, and multiple bullet holes along the driver's side," the complaint states.

Court records show the suspect has four previous felony convictions, including first-degree robbery and being a felon in illegal possession of a firearm. He was released from prison in late February, and was arrested less than three weeks later in Hennepin County for illegal possession of a firearm modified with an "auto sear," the complaint states. He was on conditional release for that alleged offense at the time of last week's shooting.

The suspect's bail was set at $1 million. If convicted, he could face at least 20 years in prison.

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