A 34-year-old man died early Saturday after he was found in his fire-engulfed apartment in a building in the 1500 block of Woodbridge Street, said St. Paul Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard. Police said the fire appears to be arson, but investigators are trying to determine who set it.
Crews responding shortly after midnight found a fire in a bedroom of the man's apartment. The man, who had been severely burned, was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul, where he died about 10:30 a.m.
The fire, which caused about $20,000 in damage, was confined to the apartment in the 24-unit complex, Zaccard said.
In an unrelated incident less than a block away Saturday afternoon, police chased a man to a neighboring building in the 1500 block of Marion Street. They cordoned it off until he surrendered to police about two hours later around 5 p.m., said police Cmdr. Kevin Casper.
Casper said the 23-year-old man's family had called police about 2 p.m. and said he was suicidal.
Family members had wrestled a gun away from the man, who threatened to kill them as he fled, police said.
The man ran north on Rice Street. Police then spotted him near Hoyt Avenue and chased him on foot to nearby Marion Street, where he ran inside an apartment building. He was later spotted on the roof, and a SWAT team was called.
The suspect was booked on possible terroristic-threats charges, police said.
