1 October 2024
St. Paul police released body camera footage Tuesday of a confrontation with last week’s Lowertown homicide suspect who they said was armed with a handgun when officers fatally shot him.
Police tracked Seantrell Tyreese Murdock, 29, to his Scott County residence after Carrie Shobe Kwok, 66, was fatally shot near her Lowertown loft on Wednesday.
There is no evidence that Kwok and Murdock knew each other, or had a conflict or fight, which is rare in a homicide, Police Chief Axel Henry said last week.
The body camera footage, which contains excerpts from three officers’ videos, can be viewed on the police department’s YouTube page.
In the videos from Thursday about 6:45 a.m., an officer can be heard shouting, “Let me see your hands! Get on the ground!”
One video showed an officer rapidly shouting “Gun!” before shots rang out. A figure could then be seen on the ground and an officer said, “Don’t move.”
The man, identified as Murdock, asked officers why they had shot him, the videos show. An officer responded, “Because you had a gun in your hand.” Officers asked, “Where are you hit, buddy?”
Murdock was airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center and died of multiple gunshot wounds about 8:30 a.m., according to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office.
“This has been a very sad time for our city and the families of those impacted by the loss of a loved one,” Henry said in a Tuesday statement. “We stand committed to being transparent and accountable for our actions and we hope the release of these videos will help answer some of the questions people have. The families, our community, and our officers will continue to be our priority as this independent investigation moves forward.”
In recent years, Henry, former Police Chief Todd Axtell and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter have moved quickly to publicly release body camera footage of shootings by officers, after family of the person shot has an opportunity to review it.
BCA investigating shooting of suspect
Kwok was a mother of two and a grandmother of four. Her Christian faith was an important part of her life, her son has said.
She moved into the Lowertown Lofts Artist Cooperative in February. She worked with vintage clothing, textile art and handmade jewelry, and enjoyed sewing, home design and remodeling.
Last Wednesday, when it was still daylight, Kwok was painting a public art project in her building’s parking lot. Her co-op was readying the project for the upcoming St. Paul Art Crawl.
Surveillance video showed the suspect walked past at 5:15 p.m., according to a search warrant affidavit. He briefly paused near a vehicle parked in the lot. He then turned and walked back in the direction of Kwok. At 5:16 p.m., he shot Kwok. Four shots were heard on video.
With information from witnesses and surveillance cameras, police identified the suspect vehicle and found it registered to Murdock in Belle Plaine, the affidavit showed. Officers went to the area where Murdock lived with his family, and “attempted to develop a tactical plan to make contact” with the people in the residence and take Murdock into custody, Henry said last week.
Seantrell Tyreese Murdock (Courtesy of the Washington County Sheriff’s Office)
Before than happened, about 6:45 a.m. Thursday, Murdock left the residence. Officers approached to take him into custody.
He had a handgun, there was a confrontation and two St. Paul officers shot him, according to police and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating. The BCA said their personnel found a handgun at the location of the shooting.
The BCA identified the officers who fired their guns as Aaron Bohlen and Lance Christianson. Bohlen has 10 years of law enforcement experience and Christianson has 20 years. The St. Paul Police Department placed them on administrative leave, which is standard after a shooting by police.
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