Two dead after St. Paul officer-involved shooting

The deadly series of events started at about 10:45 p.m. Monday. St. Paul police were called to 1619 East Maryland Avenue, where about 20 people were fighting, and shots had been fired. When police arrived, there was blood in the parking lot. Witnesses said that the shooting victim had gotten into an SUV and left.

Moments after police arrived, an SUV crashed about two miles away, near the intersection of Maryland Avenue and Edgerton Street. Dwight Raymond Tate, age 24, of Saint Paul, was inside the SUV and suffering from a gun shot wound. Paramedics took him to Regions Hospital, where he later died. Investigators determined that Tate sustained the gunshot fired at the apartment building.

While St. Paul officers were at the apartment building investigating, two men believed to be involved in the flight crept out of an apartment window and tried to flee. Officers chased them. One man surrendered. The other, 19-year-old Romell Hill, allegedly struggled as officers tried to arrest him. "Hill discharged his weapon striking one of the officers in the leg," according to a police news release.

The officer who was wounded and two others fired at Hill. The 19-year-old was pronounced dead at the scene.

The wounded police officer remains hospitalized and is expected to make a full recovery. The three involved officers have been placed on a three day administrative leave, which is standard policy.

It's still not clear if Hill was involved in the shooting of Tate. Around the time of the fight, there was also a carjacking about a block away, in the 1200 block of Hazelwood Avenue, which police say may also be related.

Anyone with information about the incidents is asked to call the Saint Paul Police Homicide Unit at 651-266-5650.