Suspect Charged in Random Saint Paul Shooting That Left Woman Injured
BY MN CRIME STAFF
A Saint Paul man accused of a late-night shooting that seriously injured a woman last November is now facing multiple felony charges.
Investigators say they recovered two handguns and ammunition from his home—including a “ghost gun”—while the suspect was prohibited from possessing any firearms.
> Sign up for the MN CRIME newsletter
Jalen Malik Baymon, 24, is charged with three counts of possessing a firearm or ammunition as a person convicted of a crime of violence and one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon. The charges stem from a shooting Nov. 25, 2025, near a Light Rail station in Saint Paul that left a woman seriously injured, with a gunshot wound to her abdomen.
According to the criminal complaint, police were called to a shooting around 11:45 p.m. after reports that a woman had been shot roughly 20 minutes earlier. Officers found the victim lying on the floor of an apartment with blood on her clothing. She had been shot in the upper abdomen, with the bullet exiting through her back. Officers applied bandages before paramedics brought the victim to Regions Hospital, where she was rushed into surgery.
The victim later told police she and her roommate had taken the Light Rail home from a bar and were walking north on North Kent Street near Sherburne Avenue after getting off the train. She said she did not have any conflicts with anyone at the bar or on the train. After crossing the street, she heard a loud bang and collapsed, realizing she had been shot. She didn’t see the shooter and believed the shot came from some distance away, the court documents say. A roommate called 911 after the two made it back to their apartment.
Investigators recovered a spent 9mm shell casing in an alley nearby. Surveillance footage from multiple nearby cameras showed a person wearing a grey puffy jacket, black pants and white shoes running across University Avenue and through nearby parking lots around the time of the shooting. Additional video showed the two women running north on Kent Street, followed seconds later by a man who stopped near the alley where the casing was later found. A gunshot can be heard on the video, followed by screaming, before the man fled down the alley.
A cell phone tower data analysis identified a phone number in the area that investigators tied to Baymon. Police say the phone’s location data matched the route taken by the person seen on surveillance and later returned to Baymon’s residence nearby, minutes after the shooting. Video from a camera at that residence allegedly shows Baymon leaving the house earlier that night, wearing clothing matching the person seen on surveillance.
READ MORE > Saint Paul coverage
Investigators later obtained a warrant for Baymon’s phone and a text message sent at 11:42 p.m. that night allegedly read, “I jus came back ina house I blew at some white people he hollered ahhh,” followed by crying and laughing emojis. Police say the slang term used in the message refers to firing a gun and note that both women involved in the shooting are white.
On Jan. 13, 2026, officers executed a search warrant at Baymon’s home and arrested him. In his bedroom, police say they found a camouflage bag containing a 9mm “ghost gun,” a term used to refer to homemade or 3D-printed firearms usually without a serial number. The 9mm was equipped with a laser and a high-capacity magazine, with ammunition in both the chamber and the magazine. Investigators also found a Springfield .45-caliber handgun, a loaded .45-caliber magazine and loose ammunition under a futon in the same room.
After being advised of his rights, Baymon agreed to speak with investigators. He denied knowing the person shown in surveillance photos and initially claimed there were no guns in his home. When confronted with the recovered firearms, he admitted knowing about them but refused to say how or when he obtained them, denying any involvement in the shooting.
Court records show Baymon has prior felony convictions including first-degree burglary, receiving stolen property and theft of a motor vehicle. The burglary conviction makes him ineligible to possess firearms or ammunition. He was already facing a separate motor vehicle theft case in Ramsey County and had previously been found incompetent to proceed under a court evaluation.
Baymon is charged with three felony counts of possessing a firearm or ammunition as a prohibited person—each carrying a potential maximum sentence of 15 years in prison—and one count of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, which carries a maximum of seven years. Baymon made an initial court appearance on Wednesday, where bail was set at $500,000.
