Missing St. Paul woman found at Cottage Grove hotel with gunshot wound
ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Paul police say a missing 18-year-old woman was found Monday inside a Cottage Grove hotel with a gunshot wound to the leg.
Police say a 911 caller reported shots fired on the 1500 block of Fellows Lane at about 4 a.m. Monday. Officers say they found evidence of a shooting but did not find the victim - Hsa Law Yaw Say.
Almost 12 hours later, the search for Say led police to the Wakota Inn and Suites in Cottage Grove. A SWAT team surrounded the motel after it was evacuated along with nearby businesses.
Police say they took two men into custody, and Say was taken to an area hospital. She is expected to survive.
The owner of the motel told WCCO's David Schuman that Hsa came in with a man and they went right in the room of someone they seemed to know.
Schuman was with Say's family when police called to say she was safe.
"It's pretty scary. Very scary situation," one of Say's relatives said. "She's OK and I'm more relieved."
Relatives and neighbors were afraid to identify themselves after the shooting. A woman across the street said, with the help of her daughter translating, that she heard the gunshots.
"She saw the guy shooting the girl and putting her in the car," the neighbor's daughter translated. "She was scared. She said she couldn't sleep for the rest of the night."
Police are still working to determine a possible motive for the shooting.
