The leader of Black Lives Matter St. Paul, who said he’s received death threats over social media in the past, reported that an armed man showed up at his door early Thursday.

Rashad Turner told police that the man tried to break into his St. Paul apartment.

“I’m shook up, but I know this is … part of being a freedom fighter or fighting for justice,” he said Thursday.

Black Lives Matter St. Paul said Monday that it plans a protest at Red Bull Crashed Ice on Feb. 27, if several demands are not met. Mayor Chris Coleman responded Wednesday that the event, which drew an estimated 140,000 people last year, will go on as planned.

On Thursday at about 4:30 a.m., Turner said, a member of his household heard someone knocking on their door in the Summit-University neighborhood, woke him up and soon called 911. Turner doesn’t know how the person gained access to the locked apartment building, though he said people sometimes leave exterior doors open.

Turner tiptoed to his apartment door and looked through the peephole, where he said he saw a man holding a black long gun, which he believed was a shotgun. He started to back away from the door, but the man apparently heard him and said, “Come on!” — the only words Turner heard him utter.

As he waited for police officers to arrive, Turner said he heard the man shake the door and pull at the handle. He called St. Paul police Senior Cmdr. Paul Iovino, who heads the Western District, on his cellphone to tell him what was happening. Turner said Iovino checked to be sure officers were en route and, when they were nearby, suggested he shout to the man, “Police are here.”

“I yelled out and the jarring and banging stopped,” Turner said. He said he later found his apartment’s doorframe had been damaged, with the area around the lock broken.

Officers searched the area but did not find the man, said Sgt. Mike Ernster, a St. Paul police spokesman.

Turner said he could not provide a detailed description of the man to police because, “when I saw the gun through the peep hole, I kind of got tunnel vision.” Keeping his family safe was his primary concern, Turner said, adding that he’s taking extra precautions now.

Turner is frequently a critic of police, but said Thursday he was glad “St. Paul police officers got here quick enough to keep my family safe. I know they’re going to make sure they’re more frequently checking the area at night, and I appreciate that.”

Turner said he’s long known that danger comes with being an activist, pointing to the five people shot and wounded during a Black Lives Matter protest in Minneapolis in November. Prosecutors have charged four people. They are accused of driving to the protest, held outside the Minneapolis Police Department 4th Precinct building over the fatal officer-involved shooting of Jamar Clark, where one allegedly fired into the crowd.

Turner said Thursday that he will not be deterred and he continues to plan Black Lives Matter St. Paul’s next protest — the group says it will hold a “nonviolent shutdown action” at Crashed Ice if St. Paul Police Sgt. Jeffrey Rothecker is not fired and criminally charged, among other demands.

Rothecker has apologized for posting on Facebook “Run them over” about protesters. He is the subject of an internal affairs investigation and on paid administrative leave from the police department.

Turner said he will meet with Coleman about Crashed Ice on Friday.