Gunshots rang out on St. Paul’s University Avenue on Saturday night and a teen lost his life one week before he would have turned 18.

John Marshall Broyles was found fatally shot on a sidewalk near Prior Avenue about 11 p.m. It was St. Paul’s first homicide of 2016.

Police said early Sunday that they were talking to witnesses, trying to determine what led to the shooting and who was involved. It did not appear to be random, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman.

An initial caller to the Ramsey County Emergency Communications Center reported that gang members might be involved, according to emergency dispatch traffic posted by MN Police Clips.

Last year, when Broyles was 16, he and a group of teens were charged in a gang-related assault on a 14-year-old in the area of University and Western avenues. The juvenile petition filed against Broyles in February 2015 said he associated with the Time For Money gang and had been arrested in the presence of TFM members in the past. Broyles was charged with kicking a teen, who associated with a rival gang, several times when the youth was on the ground, the petition said. The outcome of that case was not known Sunday.

One of Broyles’ first cousins, Tiffany Ellis, said she didn’t see signs of gang involvement from him. “I saw a little peaceful kid,” she said Sunday.

Broyles, who was known as “JB,” grew up in St. Paul, Ellis said. He was a Como Park Senior High School student at the time of his death, according to the school district. Broyles was close with his family, always taking time out to go see relatives, and had visited his aunt on Saturday, Ellis said. She didn’t know where he was headed Saturday night when he was killed.

In the initial emergency dispatch about the homicide, a dispatcher said a caller had reported a vehicle circling the block. One person who reportedly had been shot at was hiding behind a University Avenue building, according to the Police Clips audio.

Police named a possible suspect in the dispatch traffic, but Ernster said Sunday that he could not confirm whether the man was involved. As of Sunday afternoon, Ernster said he had not been notified about arrests in the case. Police ask anyone with information about the homicide to call them at 651-266-5650.

People expressed sorrow Sunday on Facebook over the loss of the teen, saying they couldn’t believe he was really gone. At Broyles’ mother’s residence in St. Paul, people arrived tearfully to offer condolences and support his family.

“He was really down to Earth,” Ellis said. “He always liked to make people laugh. That made him happy — to see other people happy.”

Broyles would have turned 18 next Sunday. He worked at McDonald’s, enjoyed playing basketball and was skilled at barbecuing (his favorite was steak), Ellis said.

After the shooting, Green Line service was interrupted as police investigated in the area, Ernster said, adding the death had nothing to do with the Green Line. Metro Transit said replacement buses transported riders between the Raymond and Snelling avenue stations until train service to all stations resumed by 6 a.m.