About 40 shots rang out during a rolling gun battle in St. Paul on Monday, though no one was injured.

Police found shell casings over approximately five blocks in Dayton’s Bluff and into Payne-Phalen.

Callers to 911 described people in two vehicles shooting at each at 3:40 p.m. Police were told one of the cars crashed at Earl Street and Reaney Avenue.

“It’s completely outrageous and it’s terrifying,” said City Council Member Jane Prince, whose ward includes Dayton’s Bluff. “I think it’s a very serious issue that we can only solve if the community comes together with the police and we figure out a way through this.”

The shoot-out came during a time of increased gun violence in St. Paul. Eight men were fatally shot in separate incidents in the city in September, bringing the number of homicides to 22 this year.

GUN FOUND, MAN ARRESTED

On Monday afternoon, police recovered casings on Earl Street between York and Minnehaha avenues, including on the bridge over Phalen Boulevard.

A witness said a car sped past him, lost control and crashed into a tree, according to Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman. Officers found the car damaged from gunshots and were told the occupants ran away.

Police located an 18-year-old woman, believed to be the driver, and a 19-year-old man, believed to be the passenger, in the area, Ernster said. The man was bleeding from the arm after apparently being injured in the crash, according to police.

A K-9 and officers searched the area and found a gun behind a residence on Minnehaha Avenue, near Earl Street. There was blood on the gun and on a child’s backpack discovered in a garbage can, Ernster said. Officers were unable to find the other vehicle involved.

Police initially received a report about a couple pushing a stroller with a child in the area, but officers spoke with them and determined they were not involved, Ernster said.

The 19-year-old was treated at Regions Hospital and booked into the Ramsey County jail on suspicion of possessing a gun without a permit and a firearm violation.

2 HOMICIDES IN NEIGHBORHOOD IN WEEK

Monday’s incident happened less than a mile from where 29-year-old Wayne R. Brown was shot Saturday night at Earl Street and Hudson Road; he died soon after at the hospital. Also in the Dayton’s Bluff area, 36-year-old Terry Edwards was killed last Tuesday, following an argument over drugs, according to a murder charge.

In addition to the eight homicides in September, 15 people were wounded in shootings in St. Paul. Last September, one person was fatally shot and 10 were wounded in shootings.

“This level of violence puts every single person in our community at risk and, frankly, we’re beyond tired of it,” Ernster said. “We’re tired of not being able to get in front of these shootings. We’re tired of finding people shot and bleeding on our streets. And we’re tired of having to tell mothers, fathers and family members that their loved ones have been killed.”