Essentially the most apparent aspect of Carrie Shobe Kwok’s life could have been the art side of her — since she was killed while painting a public art project in St. Paul’s Lowertown — however the more necessary a part of her life was her Christian faith, her son said Friday.
Kwok, 66, was a mother of a son and a daughter, and grandmother of 4.
Bill Kwok, Carrie’s oldest child, said he’s attempting to process “how something like this might occur to such a robust God-centered person.”
Police have said Kwok’s killing appeared random. There was no evidence that she and the suspect had a conflict or fight or “a previous association with each other,” which is rare in a homicide, Police Chief Axel Henry said Thursday.
On Thursday morning, St. Paul officers approached the suspect, Seantrell Tyreese Murdock, 29, when he left his Belle Plaine residence. There was a confrontation and two officers fatally shot him, in response to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating that shooting.
Police said Thursday that Murdock was armed with a handgun, and the BCA said Friday they found a handgun in the situation where Murdock was shot.
‘Certainly one of her dreams’ to live in co-op
Kwok moved into the Lowertown Lofts Artist Cooperative in February. The constructing’s front door is in an alley behind Kellogg Boulevard between Wacouta and Wall streets.
Formed in 1985 by a bunch of artists looking for reasonably priced live/work housing, there’s space for 29 artists of all varieties and their families.
Kwok worked with vintage clothing, textile art and handmade jewelry, in response to co-op president Ben Krywosz. She enjoyed sewing, home design and remodeling, her son added.
“She endeared herself to all of us together with her vivacious personality and sparkly demeanor,” Krywosz said Friday. “She combined a relentless optimism with a real-world pragmatism.”
She took part in her first St. Paul Art Crawl within the spring and was planning to participate again on the upcoming Art Crawl scheduled for Oct. 4-6.
Kwok previously lived in St. Paul’s Como Park neighborhood, round the corner to her son and his family. When she had the prospect to maneuver to the artists’ cooperative, which “had been considered one of her dreams for a very long time, she took that chance,” in response to Bill Kwok.
Tara Tieso, the co-op’s membership committee chairperson, said the mural was set into motion two weeks ago at a board meeting. Tieso’s husband had an idea to “create a ravishing public art space” within the constructing’s surface parking zone, they usually were working to have it ready before Art Crawl. One other community member got here up with a pattern, “in order that we could all participate together,” Tieso said.
The painting is “about beauty and color and vibrancy and energy on this alley” and is the co-op’s first public art project together, Tieso said.
“Carrie told me, ‘Hey, , we are able to get all of the free paint we would like from the paint recycling place,” Tieso recounted. “… She said, ‘We could get enough paint to color 10 houses.’ And so she agreed to go get paint for us. She made about three or 4 trips over the past week, bringing paint back.”
Several other members of the co-op were within the parking zone, by their vehicles or coming home, and Kwok was painting “when this unimaginable moment occurred,” Tieso said. Kwok was shot within the daylight, shortly before 5:20 p.m. on Wednesday.
Kwok was “surrounded by those who she knew here, her neighbors and other individuals who cared about her … as she passed,” Tieso said.
Caring, right down to earth
Carrie Kwok had a busy life, said her sister, Julie Shobe. She worked part-time at a hotel, waitressing for banquets. She was remodeling a house in Wabasha, Minn., and she or he was helping Shobe with constructing a tiny house.
Once they were working on the tiny house in the previous few weeks, “we talked about how we each needed to listen more to God and get direction more from God about what to be doing with our lives and never wasting it,” Shobe said.
There have been women Kwok had been meeting with for the last 35 years for Bible study. “That they had a supportive group together,” her son said.
A post on Carrie Kwok’s Facebook page from her family informed her friends Thursday of her death and said: “Please keep her in your prayers while she is transitioning into … the following stage of her everlasting life.”
Kwok and her two older sisters grew up in south Minneapolis, they usually went to Roosevelt High School.
“She was very caring, right down to earth, speaks her mind,” Shobe said. “I loved laughing together with her. We laughed so much.”
Kwok was “at all times attempting to help everybody, her family and friends,” said Bill Kwok. “Numerous her friends are telling me about how she was a very stable a part of their lives, and that she was a counselor, in a way, to the people round her.”
Shobe said everyone will miss Kwok and particularly her grandchildren “because she was so good with them.”
Officers who shot suspect on standard leave
It’s not known why the suspect, a Belle Plaine resident, was “even in St. Paul in the primary place,” Chief Henry said Thursday.
Murdock was charged in 2016 with possession of a firearm by an individual ineligible on account of a conviction of a criminal offense of violence; he couldn’t have a gun due to a 2013 felony burglary conviction, the criminal grievance said.
Court filings show that Murdock was admitted to a hospital in January 2023 and, on the time, he was alleged to pose a risk of harm on account of his mental illness and chemical dependency, a judge wrote. Civil commitment for Murdock was stayed for six months, concluding August 2023, on various conditions — including that he take prescribed medication and cooperate with Scott County Adult Mental Health case management.
After Kwok was killed, officers “very, in a short time established evidence and knowledge,” Henry said. They learned of a vehicle that left the crime scene they usually obtained a license plate number. They found it registered to a residence within the 100 block of Meridian Street in Belle Plaine.
Police arrange a fringe and “attempted to develop a tactical plan to make contact” with the people within the residence and take Murdock into custody, Henry said. Just after 6:30 a.m. Thursday, Murdock left the residence and officers approached to take him into custody.
St. Paul Officers Aaron Bohlen and Lance Christianson shot Murdock, in response to the BCA. The agency said there was a “confrontation” and otherwise didn’t detail on Friday what led officers to shoot. “The BCA investigation is in its very early stages,” in response to an announcement.
Murdock was airlifted to Hennepin County Medical Center, where he died of multiple gunshot wounds, in response to the Hennepin County medical expert’s office.
Body-camera video captured portions of the incident. Bohlen, who’s been in law enforcement for 10 years, and Christianson, who has 20 years of experience, are on administrative leave, which is standard after a shooting by police.
‘Strength in community’
The St. Paul Art Collective said they’ve decided to dedicate the upcoming Art Crawl to Kwok “to celebrating her remarkable spirit and the artistry that she brought into our lives,” said an announcement from the collective, which organizes the event. “Her passion for creativity reminds us of the essential role that art plays in our community — it connects us, heals us, and allows us to specific our deepest emotions.”
Lost Fox, a coffee shop in Lowertown, is hosting Hug Your Neighbor Day this Sunday, starting at 2 p.m.
“In light of recent events we would like to have a dedicated time to share kindness and exchange hugs for individuals who live on this neighborhood,” the business said in a social media post. “… “We love you all and know there’s strength in community.”