On March 7, 2026, at approximately 1:23 A.M., police responded to an apartment located at [ADDRESS REDACTED], St. Paul, Ramsey County, Minnesota, on a report regarding a gun pointing incident. The caller told dispatch that her friend’s boyfriend pointed a gun at her, and she was afraid he was going to hurt her friend who was still in the apartment with him. Just prior to officer’s arrival, the caller reported that the suspect fled the building on foot. Upon arrival, police spoke with the complainant, MWS, who said that she was in her friend SMSHH’s apartment with other friends when she observed FLOWERS hovering over SMSHH in the living room.
MWS stated that FLOWERS suddenly pulled out a black handgun, racked it in the air, pointed it directly at SMSHH, then pointed it at their male friend and told him to, “Get the f*** out.” MWS reported that FLOWERS continued to point the gun at everyone in the room and that she could see the barrel when FLOWERS pointed the gun at her. MWS said they all left the apartment. Police also spoke with SMSHH, who said she was in the apartment with her friends when her boyfriend, later fully identified as LAWRENCE VINCENT FLOWERS – [DOB REDACTED], entered the apartment, pulled a squirt gun out of his pocket, and pointed it at her friends.
While pointing the gun, SMSHH said FLOWERS told them, “Everyone needs to leave.” SMSHH explained that the gun was a green squirt gun covered in black electrical tape and that FLOWERS had done this before in front of her. SMSHH stated that she knew it was a squirt gun because she had seen it before, but she understood how others might have thought it was a real gun. SMSHH reported that her friends left immediately, and she told FLOWERS that he needed to leave. SMSHH said she thought FLOWERS pointed the gun because he was mad that she had friends over at her apartment and thinks she is sleeping with everyone.
SMSHH told police that she met FLOWERS in the tents when they were both unsheltered and that FLOWERS is schizophrenic. Police searched the area and were unable to locate FLOWERS. A pick up and hold was issued for his arrest. In a follow up statement, MWS told the investigator that while at SMSHH’s apartment, her boyfriend FLOWERS came in, pulled out a black handgun, and pointed it at her face while “cocking” the firearm. MWS described the handgun as black and “not a revolver”. MWS reported that after FLOWERS pointed the gun at her, he turned and pointed the gun at their male friend and told him to, “Get the f*** out.” On March 31, police responded to a different address to assist with clearing multiple people from a vacant address.
One of the individuals was FLOWERS, and he was taken into custody on the pick up and hold. Police located suspected fentanyl in his pocket. Following a Miranda advisory, FLOWERS spoke with police about the March 7 incident. FLOWERS initially denied having any kind of gun then later admitted that he picked up a plastic squirt gun from the ground and brought it into the apartment. FLOWERS stated that he pointed the squirt gun at several people and told them to leave. FLOWERS reported that he pointed the gun at them because he was feeling jealous and wanted to scare the people who were with his girlfriend.
