Teen charged in deadly shooting of woman in St. Paul
St. Paul Police are investigating a woman being shot and killed on the 1000 block of Payne Avenue Wednesday night.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - A teen is in custody Tuesday night after a shooting last week left a woman dead, a shooting the St. Paul police chief says could have been prevented.
In a statement, St. Paul police said a 15-year-old boy is currently in custody in Hennepin County for last Wednesday's shooting along Payne Avenue. In the shooting, police said 34-year-old Yuliya Li died after being found shot in her vehicle.
On Tuesday, police say the teen believed to be responsible for the violence is currently being held in Hennepin County Jail on the murder charge along with other crimes committed in Minneapolis.
In a statement, St. Paul Police Chief Todd Axtell said the system failed Li:
"Sadly, this is yet another example of how our system has failed to put victims first, failed to help a young person going down a dangerous and destructive path, and failed our entire community.
"If every spoke in the criminal justice wheel had been working together to hold this teen accountable for his previous crimes, Ms. Li would still be here today, the suspect may have been able to receive the help and consequences to right his course, and our city would not have had to suffer the trauma of hearing random gunshots echoing through a neighborhood.
"Tonight, I spoke with Julia’s husband. I told him that I’m incredibly sorry for his loss. I told him that the person responsible for his wife’s death was in custody. And I told him that my heart breaks for his entire family.
"This tragedy was entirely preventable."