Route 16 bus altercation leads to homicide near Capitol

An early-morning 16-bus argument had a deadly conclusion.

A man was found dead this morning near the intersection of Rice Street and University Avenue in St. Paul following an altercation that began on a Metro Transit route 16 bus.

Witnesses say a "group" of men were fighting on the bus, but weren't kicked off. They exited at Rice Street and Aurora Avenue. Police were called to the intersection around 1 this morning on a report of two people fighting. They found an unresponsive adult male and two other people at the scene. The unresponsive male, whose name hasn't yet been released, was found on the steps of the Berean Church and later pronounced dead.

No arrest have been made, and police are questioning the two people found alive at the scene.

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Police remove the victim's body from the scene early this morning.

In a statement, St. Paul police spokesman Howie Padilla said "the man's death is not believed to be random."

"In the hours following the death, investigators determined that it may have been the culmination of an altercation that apparently began on Metro Transit bus route 16. It is not known at this time what may have prompted the altercation," Padilla added.

The Pioneer Press reports that the man's death is the eighth homicide of the year in St. Paul, matching the total number of homicides in the city in 2011.