On May 21, 2014, in the Lowertown neighborhood of Saint Paul, Minnesota, 21-year-old Bee Thao was fatally shot while on his knees working on an art project outside the Lowertown Lofts Artists Cooperative on Kellogg Boulevard. Surveillance footage captured an assailant walking up to the unsuspecting artist and firing; authorities described the killing as cold-blooded.

Saint Paul Police investigators used witness statements and the video to identify a suspect vehicle and traced it to a home in Belle Plaine, Minnesota. The morning after the shooting, officers approached the residence; a 29-year-old male emerged armed, officers fired, and the suspect was killed. Investigators found no known connection between the suspect and Bee Thao and treated the attack as random. The suspect was later reported to have had bipolar and schizoaffective disorders and a prior felony conviction.

Bee Thao’s death deeply affected the local arts community. If anyone has information about Bee’s activities that day or saw anything near Kellogg Boulevard on May 21, 2014, please come forward.