Lauren Summer Koffi-nguessan, 22, was killed on the evening of September 4, 2020, in the parking lot of the Eagle Point Apartments on Oakdale Avenue in West St. Paul, Minnesota. Officers had responded to a disturbance at the complex involving a man who reportedly had jumped from a second-story balcony; while officers were investigating, they heard a single gunshot and found Lauren on the ground with a gunshot wound to the head. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

Witnesses saw Lauren arguing with a man identified as 21-year-old Steven Daniel Buford shortly before the shot. Family later said Lauren and Buford had been dating. After shooting her, Buford ran toward a car with Lauren’s 15-month-old son in his arms, threw the infant through a car window to a woman inside, then jumped into the backseat, landing on the woman’s 7-year-old son and brandishing a snub-nosed revolver while demanding the driver flee. Police quickly converged and arrested Buford without further incident.

Buford was charged with second-degree murder, first-degree attempted aggravated robbery, and being a felon in possession of a firearm; he later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and attempted aggravated robbery and received a 380-month prison sentence. Did anyone in the area that night see the argument or the car arriving at the complex?