A woman pointed a loaded handgun at a tattoo shop employee after refusing to leave the business in Saint Paul, prosecutors say.
Alexzia Channel Shobe, 29, of Fridley, is charged in Ramsey County District Court with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, according to a complaint filed October 30.
According to the complaint, police were called to a tattoo shop in Saint Paul at about 8:45 p.m. on October 28 after an employee reported that an intoxicated female customer had refused to leave and then pointed a gun at him. Officers found a woman outside the business who matched the description given by the employee. She was crying and was identified as Alexzia Channel Shobe.
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The employee told police that Shobe had arrived for an appointment with another employee and smelled of consumed alcohol. He said she entered the closed front area of the business, confusing him and the other employee and spoke with the other employee for so long that it became too late to start her appointment. When he told her this, he said she repeatedly refused to leave.
The complaint says the employee attempted to escort Shobe out, at which point she pulled out a handgun and pointed it at him. He said that as she did so again, she looked away for a moment, allowing him to grab the gun from her. He told police he wrestled her to the floor, pushed her out the front door and called police.
Police recovered and photographed the handgun at the scene. The complaint states the gun was loaded with a live round in the chamber. Shobe does not have a permit to carry the firearm.
In a Mirandized interview, Shobe confirmed she had come to the shop for a tattoo. She told officers that she believed the man inside the shop was insecure about his manhood and wanted to assault her, saying she could see anger in his eyes. She said she pulled out the gun to defend herself but did not remember what happened when she pointed it.
As questioning continued, Shobe claimed she only pulled out the gun after first being assaulted by the employee. When asked why she did not leave, she said she did not believe in turning her back on someone assaultive.
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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; Ramsey County Community Corrections operates the Ramsey County Correctional Facility in Maplewood.
