St. Paul police crack down after spike in shootings

ST. PAUL, Minn. (KMSP) - Even in the pouring rain, friends turned out to pay their respects to St. Paul's latest murder victim Rondell Dunn.

But their grief isn't enough to lift the dark cloud hanging over the capitol city.

"He was man enough to put us on the back burner and take care of himself and his family, and I admire that more than anything in the world. Now look what happens," friend Julian Cross said at the site of a memorial of balloons and candles near Fuller and St. Albans where Dunn was shot.

St Paul Police say Dunn is one of 45 people struck by gunfire in the city so far this year.

Police say reports of shots fired are also up 75 percent compared to this time last year, causing concern for the safety of the the people who live, work and play in St. Paul.

"We believe the problem is a small group of people causing a big problem. Its typically younger people deciding to solve their problems with firearms. It's not OK," St Paul Police spokesperson Steve Linders said.

Tyrese Borney was shot and killed near the Capitol on Saturday. The mother of two of his four children said he moved back to Minnesota about a year ago, after graduating from community college in Michigan, where he got a degree in psychology to help young people from tough neighborhoods like his get away from life on the streets.

"It's these kids with the wrong guidance, and that's what [Dunn] wanted to stop. This nonsense where everybody gets a gun and they think they are big and bad," a woman who does not want to be identified said.

Even a candlelight vigil for Dunn was marred by gunfire on Monday night, but his friends say they don't know when the violence will end.

"We can't describe what's going on because nobody knows, so we're going to let the situation play out the best way it can," Cross said.

Among other things, police say they will increase patrols in trouble spots and send "ambassadors" to those areas to help stop the violence.