One person was killed and five others were wounded in separate shootings on St. Paul's East Side late Friday, police said, as they continued to search for those responsible.

An unidentified man was fatally shot during an apparent confrontation in the area of Earl Street and Suburban Avenue, not far from Mounds Park, in the Dayton's Bluff neighborhood. He was found lying in the street about 8:20 p.m. by officers responding to calls of gunshots in the area, according to police spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster. Paramedics arrived shortly afterward and tried to resuscitate the man, but he was pronounced dead at the scene, Ernster said.

In the ensuing hours, homicide detectives fanned out through the neighborhood to question potential witnesses and search for any surveillance cameras that may have captured the shooting, he said.

No arrests had been made as of 12:30 a.m. Saturday, he added.

"Keeping in mind that this is only a couple hours old, maybe four at this point, we don't have a lot of answers," Ernster said a late-night press briefing outside police headquarters. "They're interviewing those witnesses in an attempt to understand what would lead somebody to shoot another human being and take their life."

After an autopsy, authorities will release the man's identity. His death marked the city's 12th homicide this year.

"Hopefully we get an accurate picture of what led to this man's death," Ernster said.

Officers also responded to the 900 block of DeSoto Avenue about 10:30 p.m., and found three men and a woman wounded by gunfire, police said. All four were transported to Regions Hospital, where one of the men was being treated for "critical life threatening injuries" early Friday morning. Police expect the others to survive their injuries.

A fifth victim from that shooting, a man, showed up at an area hospital, where he was treated for a noncritical gunshot wound, Ernster said.

He said that while police are still assessing the circumstances that led up to the shooting on DeSoto, the preliminary investigation suggests that it was not related to the earlier homicide.

"Right now we don't believe there's any connection to the two incidents," he said.

Liz Sawyer • 612-673-4648 Twitter:@ByLizSawyer

Libor Jany • 612-673-4064 Twitter:@StribJany