Family, friends suspect old grudges in fatal St. Paul shooting

Relatives and friends of a man shot and killed in Frogtown on Tuesday say he was likely targeted by old enemies.

They identified him as Kin K. Reynolds, 26, of St. Paul.

Reynolds' longtime friend, Trenika McGee, said he was at a nearby bar, Willard's, just before being shot. Police found his body in the street on Grotto Street N. just north of Edmund Avenue W.

"He always smiled. … And no matter if he just seen you, he'd say, 'I love you,' " McGee said.

Reynolds was shot about 9:30 p.m. Police say officers heard about 10 shots near the intersection where he was found.

Reynolds died at the scene, and two other men with undisclosed injuries were taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul.

Police spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster said the shooting was not random but the motive, suspects and circumstances remain under investigation. Police declined to say whether a weapon was found at the scene.

McGee and Reynolds' cousin, Mary Rayford, said they don't know what transpired Tuesday, but they suspect that old grudges were to blame.

"Even though you trying to turn your life around, you still got old enemies," McGee said. "People nowadays hold grudges so long.

"Some people may wait five to 10 years to get you. That's just how it is."

McGee said Reynolds had been in trouble with the law and was just released from prison a few months ago. Court records show that in August 2014, Reynolds received two 1 ¾-year prison sentences in a burglary case and in an unrelated domestic abuse case. The sentences ran concurrently. He was briefly detained in July for giving police a false name.

But, McGee and Rayford said, Reynolds had been keeping to himself and his family, and he hoped to find work. Reynolds grew up in St. Paul and lived with Rayford.

Reynolds, McGee said, is related to Renaldo T. McDaniel, who was fatally shot in St. Paul this year. She didn't believe the shootings were related but urged others not to repeat the pattern of violence that ended the men's lives. Police declined to say whether there were any possible connections between the two shootings.

"Sometimes you just got to let God handle it," she pleaded at the scene of Reynolds' killing, where blood still stained the street. "Revenge isn't everything — your life is."

Anyone with information about the case can call police at 651-266-5650.