St. Paul post office shooting: Man with apparent mental health issues fatally shot co-worker, charges say

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) – A 28-year-old man has been charged with attempted murder after allegedly shooting his co-worker Sunday at a U.S. Post Office in St. Paul.

Tewabe Semu Getachew, 28, of St. Paul, is charged with attempted second-degree murder in the case.

What happened

Police responded to the U.S. Post Office on West Seventh Street in St. Paul at 3:24 p.m. Oct. 13 after an employee discovered that a supervisor, identified by police as an Eagan man 50 years old, had been shot “several times”. “, according to the criminal complaint.

The victim told the employee, “He shot me. He shot me. Call the police,” according to the charges. The employee called the police and put the phone on speaker. When the dispatcher asked who shot him, the victim replied “Tewabe. Tewabe is gone. Talk to Tewabe.”

Police recovered .40-caliber Smith and Wesson shell casings from the ground near where the victim was shot.

The victim told police Getachew shot him, but was unable to answer when police asked why Getachew shot him, according to the charges.

Police learned that Getachew had been working at the U.S. Post Office on West Seventh Street earlier in the day, returning to the post office at 3:14 p.m. and clocking out at 3:22 p.m. The only electronic devices in the post office before the 911 call matched Getachew, the employee who called 911 and the victim, the charges state.

Surveillance video from a gas station across the street from the post office showed Getachew leaving the post office parking lot around 3:19 p.m. Surveillance video showed Getachew returning home in his vehicle around 3:25 p.m. and leaving at 3 p.m. h 37.

Police found Getachew’s vehicle and stopped him outside his home around 4:50 p.m. Police removed Getachew from his vehicle and took him into custody.

Authorities noted Getachew had what looked like blood on the laces of his right shoe, according to the charges. Getachew did not have a weapon on him and no weapons were found in his vehicle.

Police and a postal inspector searched Getachew’s home, where they found a gun box containing a .40-caliber Glock pistol and a magazine containing several Smith and Wesson rounds. An examination of the gun shows it was fired with shell casings recovered from the Post Office, according to the charges.

While talking with Getachew, they smelled alcohol. Getachew said he had a beer after work when he got home, the complaint states.

Getachew told police he saw the victim after he had been hitting all day, noting the victim was the only other person he saw in the building. He said the victim was not injured when he left and said he did not shoot the victim, according to the charges.

Suspect had mental health issues, colleagues say

A Post Office employee described Getachew as “weird” and having mental health issues. The employee noted that Getachew sometimes refused to do his job and argued with his supervisor.

Getachew started working at the post office on Feb. 24, 2024. He had every Thursday off so he could attend appointments related to his mental health, the facility’s manager told police, according to the complaint.

The victim’s wife told police the victim was concerned about a male employee at work. The victim told him the employee sometimes lost packages and refused to deliver them. The victim told his wife he thought the employee had mental health issues. Getachew matched the description the victim gave his wife, according to the charges.

Getachew’s neighbors told police he was always drinking and suspected he was an alcoholic. Police learned Getachew continually talked about needing a gun and getting a permit to get one, the complaint states.

Getachew admitted to authorities that he owned a Glock 23 firearm but did not know its caliber. He said he had a carry permit and purchased the gun a month ago. He said he kept the gun in his vehicle when he was at work. Getachew is licensed to practice in Ramsey County.

Getachew was previously convicted of gross misdemeanor harassment in Hennepin County, in which he told a witness that the owner of the business where he worked should be killed, and Getachew ran his finger down his neck. He said it would be good for business if the owner was killed, and he told staff at work that he had permission to buy and carry a gun, the complaint notes.

The victim is in stable condition

The victim was transported to the area hospital in critical condition, with “what appear to be at least five gunshot wounds to his body, primarily to the back,” the complaint states.

He is now “miraculously in a stable condition”, says the prosecution.

He is scheduled to undergo another surgery on October 15.

What’s next

Getachew’s first court appearance was scheduled for Tuesday morning.

The motive for the shooting was not detailed in the criminal complaint.