Investigators with the Saint Paul Police Department are trying to determine why a man died after a robbery attempt ended in a struggle in the entryway to a downtown building at about 7 p.m. Monday Jan. 20.
Officers were called to a parking ramp at 505 Wabasha St. N. on a report of an assault. Upon arrival, they found a 52-year-old man being held down on the ground. He was unconscious and not breathing, so officers began chest compressions and called St. Paul Fire paramedics.
The man was transported to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
According to witnesses, the deceased intimated having a gun as he attempted to rob a 49-year-old employee of a nearby church. A fight ensued between the deceased and the victim of the robbery attempt, drawing the attention of several other church employees, who came out of the church to assist their colleague.
At some point, the church employees gained control of the deceased, holding him on the ground until the police arrived.
Everyone involved was interviewed at police headquarters and released. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner is conducting an autopsy to identify the deceased and determine his exact cause of death. This information and any other updates in the case will be released on the departments twitter account as it becomes available.
No arrests have been made and the incident remains under investigation.
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