A fight outside a bar on Saint Paul's East Side turned into gunfire early Monday morning, leaving two men wounded and investigators counting at least 10 bullet markers scattered near the entrance. Saint Paul police say officers responded around 12:20 a.m. to reports of shots fired near Chances Tavern, a longtime bar and restaurant on Payne Avenue.
One man was shot in the stomach and another was shot in the arm, according to KARE 11. Both men are said to have non-life-threatening injuries and are expected to recover, the station reports. A KARE 11 photographer at the scene documented roughly 10 bullet markers laid out by investigators near the bar, a visual sign of how many rounds were fired during the confrontation.
Investigators believe an argument escalated into gunfire, per the station's reporting, though it remains unclear whether the dispute began inside Chances Tavern or broke out on the street. As of Monday morning, police had not made any arrests, and the outlet's report does not indicate whether a suspect description or vehicle has been identified.
A Bar With Deep East Side Roots
Chances Tavern sits at 1080 Payne Avenue in the Payne-Phalen neighborhood, part of Saint Paul's District 5 and one of the East Side's primary commercial and dining corridors, according to the Payne Arcade Business Association. The bar has also been the beneficiary of municipal investment: in February 2023, the Saint Paul City Council approved reallocating Community Development Block Grant subgrant funds through the East Side Neighborhood Development Company's Business Investment Fund specifically earmarked for the address, according to city records.
The Payne-Phalen neighborhood also takes part in Saint Paul's Community-First Public Safety initiative, which includes monthly community policing meetings held at the Eastern District police station on Payne Avenue. District 5, where the shooting occurred, is described as a dense mix of residential streets and commercial strips.
How Saint Paul Investigates Non-Fatal Shootings
Cases like this one now fall under the purview of Saint Paul's Non-Fatal Shooting Unit, established in January 2024 to treat non-fatal shootings as “failed homicides” deserving the same investigative resources as killings. The approach, detailed by Police1, nearly doubled the city's case clearance rate, from 38% in 2023 to 71% in 2024, and helped drive annual non-fatal shootings down 40%, from 122 incidents in 2023 to 73 in 2024, after peaking at 193 in 2022.
The unit's success, funded through $2.9 million in state public safety dollars, has become a statewide template. The Minnesota House passed legislation in May 2026 that included $1 million to help other law enforcement agencies replicate Saint Paul's model, and neighboring Minneapolis launched its own version, called FAST, earlier this year.
A City With a Rising Homicide Count
The shooting near Chances Tavern lands amid a sharp climb in Saint Paul violence this year. The city recorded 13 homicides through mid-August 2026, an 85% increase over the seven homicides logged during the same stretch in 2025, according to a Saint Paul Police Department statement reported by Hoodline. That surge stands in contrast to a nationwide drop in urban violent crime and to Saint Paul's own decade-low of 15 total homicides in 2025.
Monday's shooting is also the latest in a string of multi-victim, non-fatal shootings this year, including two 13-year-olds shot near the Capitol earlier this month and two men wounded on West Maryland Avenue in August. Saint Paul's history of nightlife violence includes the October 2021 shootout at the Seventh Street Truck Park bar downtown, which killed one woman and wounded 15 others in what remains the largest mass shooting in the city's history, as reported by FOX 9 at the time.
What Comes Next
Under Minnesota Statute § 624.7142, permit holders may legally carry concealed handguns into establishments serving alcohol, but carrying a firearm while intoxicated in public, with a blood alcohol concentration of 0.04 or higher, is a gross misdemeanor that can also trigger permit revocation. Business owners can bar firearms from their premises by posting a conspicuous notice under the same law.
If a suspect is identified and charged, Minnesota Statute § 609.222 classifies assault with a dangerous weapon causing substantial bodily harm as a second-degree felony, carrying up to 10 years in prison, a $20,000 fine, or both. State law separately penalizes the intentional or reckless discharge of a firearm within a municipality as a felony offense. As of Monday morning, no arrests had been made, and it remains unclear whether investigators have recovered surveillance footage from nearby Payne Avenue businesses or identified those responsible.
