The St. Paul Police Department said that an investigation is ongoing in connection to a reported conflict between a St. Thomas student and a separate group of people that escalated to threats of violence on the night of April 16 in the Frey Hall parking garage.
St. Paul police Public Information Officer Toy Vixayvong said that both groups have claimed to be the victim of threats, and officers now seek to determine which group is responsible. No charges have been filed at this time.
Vixayvong said St. Paul police responded to a report of violent threats involving a knife at the parking garage and found the group of young men, who stated that they had been threatened with a knife by the singular student, who fled the scene before police arrived.
The suspect matching the description provided by the group of men was then found and arrested shortly afterward at a house on the 2000 block of Laurel Avenue, Vixayvong said.
Vixayvong said that the arrested student gave testimony stating that he was the victim of threats by the other group of students, not the other way around.
He was released pending an investigation after the Ramsey county attorney asked the police to investigate further, according to police. Vixayvong said that investigators will seek video evidence of the incident.
Vixayvong said that police were unable to comment on details of the case due to the ongoing investigation. He said the investigation will take “about another week” to reach a conclusion.
This is a developing story and will be updated once new details are confirmed.
Kevin Lynch can be reached at lync1832@stthomas.edu.
