Arrest made in killing of South St. Paul teen

Nick Ferraro, Pioneer Press
·2 min read

An arrest has been made in connection with Sunday night’s fatal shooting of 17-year-old Anthony Skelley in South St. Paul, according to police.

A 17-year-old boy was taken into custody Monday afternoon, South St. Paul Police Chief Brian Wicke said Tuesday. Citing the ongoing investigation, Wicke declined to say whether the teen is the suspected shooter in the killing of Skelley, who lived in South St. Paul.

“All I can say at this point is we do believe that this juvenile male has a role in the death that took place on Conver Avenue,” he said.

Wicke said he anticipates the case against the teen will be sent to the Dakota County attorney’s office Tuesday for possible charges.

Wicke said he would not yet release a possible motive or other details about the case Tuesday. He did say Monday investigators do not believe the shooting was random.

“Details would come out if and when a complaint is released,” he said, who added “it’s a sad story, and it didn’t need to happen.”

Officers who responded to a shots fired report in the 1900 block of Conver Avenue around 10:42 p.m. found Skelley lying in the road with gunshot wounds to his upper torso. Officers and medics provided aid to Skelley on scene, where he was pronounced dead.

According to Skelley’s family, he was a junior at Gateway to College, a St. Paul Public Schools’ program at St. Paul College that allows high school students to also earn college credits. Before that, he went to Two Rivers High School — formerly Henry Sibley — in Mendota Heights.

Skelley’s family and friends have described him as “a beautiful soul with a cheerful presence and a joyful spirit” and said he was “an incredibly ambitious young man” who wanted to start his own landscaping business and enjoyed fixing cars and reselling them.

When asked Tuesday whether investigators are pursuing other suspects, Wicke said the investigation is still active “and we don’t yet know where it’s going to lead. So it’d be premature to say we’re not looking for anyone else.”

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