St. Paul residents gathered at St. Thomas and questioned the city’s security after a robbery-gone-wrong ended in the fatal shooting of the alleged robber, 16-year-old Lavauntai Broadbent.

The St. Paul Police Department and St. Thomas Department of Public Safety hosted a public forum, which drew 100 attendees, August 6. The forum gave police officials a chance to provide details regarding recent incidents at the intersection of Summit Avenue and Mississippi River Boulevard as well as a chance for the public to raise their concerns.

According to the police report:

On July 31 three individuals approached a man and woman near the WWI monument blocks from St. Thomas and attempted to rob them – first asking for a phone to call home with, then pointing a gun at them. The victim then drew a concealed gun he had a permit to carry and fatally shot the armed suspect. At a memorial service for Broadbent on August 2, several individuals attending the service allegedly mistook an approaching white Mercedes as hostile and shot at it. Those in the car, later discovered to be friends bringing music to the event, crashed the car into a water fountain and fled on foot.

Shortly after the shooting on July 31 Public Safety Director Dan Meuwissen sent out an alert on the St. Thomas emergency notification system about the shooting advising anyone in the area to seek shelter.

Meuwissen said he made the decision to send out the alert since he believed there was “an imminent risk to the community.”

Public Safety Associate Director Mike Barrett said the communication between SPPD and Public Safety is a close network.

“In both instances we were notified by the emergency communication center that there was an increased police presence in the neighborhood,” Barrett said. “We have no authorities off campus but that allows us to be an extra set of eyes and ears.”

Local residents, while used to late, noisy parties and foot traffic around Monument Park, expressed fear and worry regarding the violence in a favorite and usually peaceful area.

Police gave what facts they could without compromising the ongoing investigation in an attempt to reassure residents.

“Number one – you’ve got a great community,” Chief of Police Tom Smith said at the forum. “When things happen like this it kind of shocks the conscious. It shocked mine. This is an important night to be here tonight. This is a big deal.”

Smith and other officials went on to say that this incident was an anomaly and not indicative of a major increase in crime. On the contrary, statistics provided by Patrol Cmdr. John Bandemer demonstrated a sharp drop in crime in the western district in the past two years.

But the forum discussion expanded far beyond the past week’s events and into broader concerns from local residents including the number of car burglaries, poor lighting in parks and officer response time.

St. Paul City Council Member Chris Tolbert attended the forum and said it was encouraging to see so many members of the community in attendance.

“I think it’s fantastic. One of the things that keeps our neighborhood particularly safe is community involvement from people of all ages and people getting to know each other,” Tolbert said. “When incidents like this happen I’m always proud of our neighborhood because you get 150, 200 people to show up for this or even garage break-ins and that how we can best fight crime.”

Western district Senior Cmdr. Paul Iovino took audience questions, occasionally deferring to other officials, and maintained that even though this incident may have had gang ties it is not a sign of a more dangerous neighborhood.

Iovino said he believes the suspects stole a car with firearms in it and went down near the river banks to test the weapons “under the radar” eventually deciding to use them to commit an armed robbery.

“I think this really was an anomaly. This has traditionally been a very safe area,” Iovino said. “This setting is probably what brought them here… It was probably a crime of opportunity that presented itself.”

Pam McCreary, the police department’s crime prevention coordinator, also addressed the community and gave tips on how to create a safer neighborhood. Simply being aware and not being afraid to call 911 can prevent many crimes, she said.

Local resident Jim Hallermann attended the forum and said he thinks more people being informed and aware will help keep the area safe.

“I think they’ve done a good job in handling it and letting everybody know what’s going on,” Hallermann said. “It could have happened in any neighborhood. Seeing the neighborhood get involved — I think they’re concerned about what’s going on which will make it safer.”

St. Thomas Neighborhood Liaison Amy Gage reached out to various neighborhood organizations and encouraged people to hear the facts straight from the police after police asked Public Safety if they could use St. Thomas as a venue.

“We were very happy to do it. I’m delighted that neighbors can come here tonight and see us as a place of community relations and problem solving,” Gage said. “This scared people … It seemed important to me because I wanted people to get accurate information. Let’s all be on the same page and have accurate information.”

Investigations into the shootings are ongoing.

Simeon Lancaster can be reached at lanc4637@stthomas.edu.