A man fired a handgun into the air at the entrance to an apartment building in Saint Paul, then picked up the casing and went inside, according to charges.
Deonte Cortez Childs, 34, of Saint Paul, faces a felony charge of reckless discharge of a firearm within a municipality. The charge was filed Tuesday, August 25, in Ramsey County District Court.
According to the complaint, Saint Paul police officers responded at about 1:05 p.m. on August 24 to an apartment building in the 1500 block of Marion Street in Saint Paul on a report of a man firing a handgun into the air. The apartment manager told officers that the man fired the gun at the building entrance and then went into one of the apartments.
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Officers found Deonte Cortez Childs, who had just exited the building. The apartment manager identified him as the person who fired the gun. Childs told officers he is a permit to carry holder and said he fired a “warning shot” because he believed he saw the person who had previously broken into his car. At no time, the complaint states, did Childs report being in fear of imminent death or harm from that person.
A witness reported seeing Childs pick up the casing after firing the shot. Officers obtained a warrant to search Childs’s apartment, where they found a spent casing on a desk and a black handgun in a holster under a pillow on the bed.
Childs was scheduled to appear in Ramsey County court on August 26, 2026.
About This Charge
Minnesota’s weapons offenses include § 624.713 (felon in possession of a firearm, five-year mandatory minimum for a prior crime of violence), § 609.66 (dangerous weapons, including drive-by shooting at § 609.66 subd. 1e) and § 609.165 (firearm restoration after a felony). Discharge of a firearm within a municipality is charged under § 609.66 subd. 1a.
Related MN CRIME Coverage
Saint Paul Man Charged as Driver After Shots Fired at Home Twice • Saint Paul Man Fired at Vehicle in Drive-By Shooting • Felon Found with Rifle During Saint Paul Traffic Stop
Jurisdictional Context
Ramsey County encompasses Saint Paul and is served by the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office. Felony cases are heard in the Second Judicial District at the Ramsey County Courthouse in downtown Saint Paul; the Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office operates the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood.
