St. Paul Police Release Footage From Deadly Apartment Shooting

ST. PAUL, MN — The St. Paul Police Department on Friday released footage from two body-worn cameras showing the moment when an officer shot and killed a man in a West Seventh Neighborhood apartment building.

"Any loss of life is tragic, and we’re keeping the family and friends of Mr. Xiong in our thoughts as they grieve and look for answers," Axel Henry, St. Paul's police chief, said in a statement.

"We know there aren’t words to alleviate their pain, but we hope the release of these videos will help them begin to understand what happened. At the same time, we are thinking about our community members and officers who are also affected. We are a tight knit city, and what affects one of us affects all of us. That’s why we’re going to stand together and do everything we can to support one another while the BCA completes its investigation."

Officers responded to the building around 5 p.m. on Feb. 11 on reports of a man threatening residents with a knife, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

The footage released on Friday shows officers arriving at the apartment building, where residents directed them to Yia Xiong, age 65.

Police yelled at Xiong to "drop the knife!" and "come here!" but he continued walking down a short hallway to his apartment unit, the footage shows.

Xiong unlocked his apartment door and went inside. As the door closed, officers kicked it to open it back up again and told Xiong to come out.

Xiong opened the door and stepped into the hallway with an apparent knife still in his hand.

Officers then fired several rounds. Police and first responders treated Xiong but he died at the scene.

BCA crime scene personnel said they recovered a 16-inch traditional Hmong knife at the scene.

Viewer advisory: The following video contains graphic violence