Police: Nightclub security guard shoots, kills attacker in parking lot
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A nightclub security guard shot and killed a man who chased and attacked him early Friday in the club's parking lot, according to authorities.
The Maplewood Police Department says the shooting happened outside Stargate Nightclub in Maplewood, after the the man and several others targeted the 28-year-old security officer.
KSTP and WCCO both report a fight began around 1 a.m.
According to police video evidence and witness accounts, the group of men chased the guard from the club's entrance to the parking lot. The security officer then fell to the ground and was swarmed and assaulted.
The security officer was armed, and fired his gun, striking one attacker – a 20-year-old St. Paul man. The man who was struck was taken to Regions Hospital in critical condition, but later died, police said.
According to the Star Tribune, the altercation began when the security officer asked the man to leave the club.
Police are not releasing the man's name yet, but expect to do so at some point Friday.
The security guard is described as being "fully cooperative" with investigators. He works for JBM Patrol & Protection Services, which is based in Edina.
Once the investigation is complete, the information will be given to the Ramsey County Attorney's Office to consider possible charges.
Incidents at Stargate nightclub
In 2007, the Pioneer Press reported a Minneapolis woman was accused of opening fire on a group standing outside the club.
It was the third shooting at a Maplewood nightclub in as many years, the paper said – an incident outside Stargate in 2004 resulted in one man being fatally shot and three others injured in a "hail of gunfire."
The shootings had city leaders frustrated at the time.
And in 2011, a St. Paul man was accused of using a box cutter to slash three people outside Stargate, CityPages reported.
Last fall, a teenager was arrested in connection with a triple shooting at the strip mall where Stargate is located, though the nightclub was reportedly not involved in the incident.
