In the afternoon hours of September 10, 2024, a bright Tuesday in Saint Paul, Minnesota, the life of 22-year-old Davion Lamonte Paule Brown, a Black / African American male, was abruptly cut short in a burst of gunfire. The fatal encounter unfolded outside a tobacco shop located at a strip mall on the 1300 block of Maryland Avenue East, near the serene surroundings of Lake Phalen.
Brown was standing with two other individuals when the incident occurred.
Surveillance footage from the area captured the chilling moments leading up to the shooting. A teenager was seen arriving at the strip mall on a bicycle. He dismounted and approached Brown. An exchange of words took place, which one witness later described as an argument concerning a woman. Another witness noted a seemingly innocuous interaction just before the violence; Brown had reportedly purchased a pack of cigars for the teenager, who did not have his identification. Following the brief verbal exchange, the teenager suddenly opened fire on Brown, continuing to shoot even after he had fallen to the ground. The assailant then fled the scene on his bicycle. When police arrived at approximately 12:30 p.m., they found Brown in the entryway of the tobacco store with multiple gunshot wounds. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
The investigation into Davion Brown's death moved swiftly. Less than a mile from the crime scene, officers spotted and apprehended the suspect after a short foot chase. Along the path the teenager had taken to flee, police discovered a 9mm handgun and a black mask. The suspect was identified as 16-year-old Knyaw Taw of St. Paul, who initially lied to the police about his identity. At the time of his arrest, Taw had an active warrant for a previous charge related to fentanyl possession in April 2023.
Knyaw Taw was charged with second-degree intentional murder. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office announced its intention to prosecute him as an adult, where a conviction would carry a more significant sentence. In March of the following year, now 17, Taw entered into a plea agreement. He pleaded guilty to the second-degree murder charge. In exchange, prosecutors agreed to seek a sentence within a specific range and to drop charges in an unrelated riot case. On April 18, 2025, a Ramsey County judge sentenced Knyaw Taw to 23 years in prison for the murder of Davion Lamonte Paule Brown, with credit for 221 days already served.
