In the early evening of September 24, 2021, a domestic dispute in a Saint Paul, Minnesota, apartment building escalated into a fatal encounter that left 44-year-old Royal Terrell Arrington Sr. dead from multiple gunshot wounds. Police responded to the 1200 block of Westminster Street shortly before 7 p.m. following several 911 calls. Upon arrival, they discovered Arrington unresponsive in a hallway, having been gravely wounded.
Medics pronounced him dead at the scene.
Shortly after the shooting, Arrington's 25-year-old son, who shares the same name, arrived at a local hospital with a gunshot wound to his arm and cheek. He had been transported to the hospital by a private party and required surgery for his life-threatening injuries. Investigators quickly connected him to the shooting, and he was arrested on suspicion of murder.
According to the criminal complaint, a family feud over living arrangements had been brewing in the days leading up to the fatal incident. One witness also indicated that the father and son had a strained relationship because the elder Arrington had not been a part of his son's childhood. During questioning, the younger Arrington gave conflicting statements about how his father was shot but eventually admitted to shooting him twice in the stomach. However, the medical examiner's office determined that the elder Arrington had been shot eight times, a discrepancy his son could not explain.
The younger Arrington was charged with two counts of second-degree murder. He was held on a $1 million bail. However, after spending nearly 10 months in jail, the murder charges against him were dropped in July 2022. The Ramsey County Attorney's Office concluded that after a thorough review of the evidence, including forensic reports, they could not disprove his claim of self-defense beyond a reasonable doubt. While the murder charges were dismissed, he did plead guilty to possessing a gun without a permit in a public place. For this charge, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison, but with credit for the 296 days he had already served, his sentence was considered satisfied, and he was released from custody.
