ST. PAUL, MINNESOTA — At first, the incident was reported as a robbery. Then, police got more information and quickly realized that it was much more than that. A man, homeless and on drugs, had a fascination with a woman and was looking to kidnap her. He wasn’t successful in his attempt because during the attack, a man that the woman was with had a gun and was ready to defend.
From local media;
She said the man had been harassing her, once walking without permission into her apartment in St. Paul’s Lowertown — and frequently texting that he wanted her.
He seemed homeless, always wearing the same tattered clothes. Her husband told him to stop.
But when he and another man came out of the dark Tuesday evening and pointed a gun at her husband — seated in front of her in the passenger seat of their friend’s car — she was sure there would be blood.
“To my knowledge, he’s a drifter downtown. He’d seen me go into my building a couple times. Followed me into building. My friend mistakenly gave him my number, thinking he knew me. He made it very clear he was ‘going to have me,’ and ‘he wanted me,’ ” said the 27-year-old woman.
The woman heard two shots and thought that her husband was dead. At the time, she didn’t realize that their friend, who was in the car with them, was the one who fired the shots in defense of them all.
Kevin Deandre Ashford, 31, was shot by the friend of the couple and ran a few blocks away until he was eventually picked up by police. He was shot in the chin and collarbone.
The friend who fired the shots was quick, and apparently only beat the suspect by a second.
Shortly after Ashford approached, “He was trying to take the safety off. … We saw his tendons in his hands, he was just about to squeeze the trigger. And just as he was trying to squeeze the trigger, (the couple’s friend) pulled it a split second faster,” the woman said. Ashford never got a shot off.
A bb-gun looking similar to that of a Beretta handgun was found nearby with blood on it.
The driver who fired the shots is reported to be a local musician, and the couple had met with him as fans to listen to some of his music. That’s what they were doing in the vehicle, and they’re lucky that he was armed.
Be humble, be quick, and be ready. Regardless as to whether or not the weapon was a bb-gun, there’s no telling what someone is pulling on you in the dark. The driver’s quick response saved lives, and we applaud his courage and readiness when faced with danger.
