Standoff Ends With Police Killing Suspect

Thanks to West St. Paul Chiropractic for their support.

A seven-hour standoff in a West St. Paul neighborhood ended after police shot a suspect who had been firing at police for hours.

• St. Paul police were searching for an adult male wanted for multiple felony warrants.
• Just after 11 a.m., a motorcycle associated with the man was found on the 1200 block of Ottawa Avenue in West St. Paul.
• Officers surrounded the home, identified the suspect, and began evacuating people.
• South Metro SWAT took over the scene around 2:15 p.m. The suspect fired multiple shots at police over the next four hours, striking the armored SWAT vehicles and an officer’s ballistic shield.
• Police tried to negotiate with the suspect and then resorted to chemical irritants to subdue him.
• Around 6:40 p.m., the suspect aimed a rifle at police and a South Metro SWAT officer fired and hit the suspect. The suspect was transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
• The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) is investigating the shooting.
• The police issued a shelter-in-place order for the surrounding neighborhood, urging people to avoid the area, stay inside, and find the lowest place in their homes. Residents reported gunshots and stray bullets. The order was lifted around 7:30 p.m.
• Nearby St. Joseph Catholic School went into lockdown as a precautionary measure. The school had an increased police presence and locked the doors yesterday after the shooting at Annunciation Catholic School in Minneapolis.

Photos From the Scene

A series of photos from local resident Holden Smith:

Sept. 4, 2025 Update: Suspect ID’d, Details on Emergency Alert

Suspect: The BCA identified the suspect in last week’s shooting as Jerry Va Thao, 42, of St. Paul. In addition to multiple felony warrants, police suspected Thao of violating a protection order the day before.

Alerts: West St. Paul Police gave an update on the emergency alert system used in last week’s incident. They explained how the Wireless Emergency Alert (WEA) notification system works, making mobile devices buzz with the alert—in this case a shelter-in-place warning sent to devices within a three-block radius. They also covered why some residents might not have received an alert, including inadequate signal or opting out.

Editor’s note: This story is based on police accounts available at the time, which may change and can inherently give a one-sided report of the incident.

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All photos by Holden Smith, used with permission.