The defendant allegedly told police “no accident” after a teenager was shot on Hoyt Avenue East.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — A December fire that killed one of Gyaw Way’s children resurfaced in court records after police said Way shot a teenager whose father he wrongly suspected was tied to the blaze.
The April 7 shooting did not begin as a public dispute over the fire. It began, according to charging records, with a call about repaying money. It ended with a 17-year-old boy wounded in the driver’s seat of an Acura, a gun hidden in a basement and Way charged with first-degree assault causing great bodily harm. The case has drawn attention because investigators say the motive described by witnesses was rooted in a belief not supported by any known criminal finding.
Way, 61, had been living at a home on the 1500 block of Hoyt Avenue East after the December 2025 fire, residents told police. His son Pah Ker Say, 26, was staying there too. One of Way’s children had died in the fire, and residents said Way was overseas when it happened. Fire officials later described the blaze as accidental, with local reports saying it likely started near a space heater. No public record cited in the case named the teen’s father as a suspect or charged him with any crime tied to the fire.
But witnesses told police Way believed the teen’s father was involved. Charging records say the reason remained unclear. That gap is a key part of the case because prosecutors do not need to prove the father was connected to the fire to prove assault. They need to prove Way’s actions on April 7. Still, the fire matters because it explains the alleged motive. After officers arrested Way, they said he spoke mostly in Karen but used a few English phrases. He said “sorry,” “baby die” and “no accident,” according to the complaint. Those words placed the prior death at the center of the shooting investigation.
The complaint says Way called the teen’s father earlier that day and said he wanted to repay money he owed from a prior trip to Thailand. The father did not drive himself. His 17-year-old son drove him to the Hoyt Avenue home. The father had an amputated leg, and he later told investigators Way had once been his caretaker. That history meant the father was not walking into a meeting with a total stranger. He was going to see a man who had been connected to his care and who, police say, also believed he was tied to the death of Way’s child.
When the father and son arrived, Way got into the Acura with them, according to court documents. Say walked toward the vehicle. Residents then heard one gunshot. They looked outside and saw Say at the front passenger side of the car, asking his father what was wrong with him, the complaint says. Police later found the teenager with a gunshot wound on the right side of his chest and an exit wound in his back. The boy said he had trouble breathing. He told officers an older man he did not know had shot him.
The injury was severe. Court records say the bullet hit the teen’s liver and lung and broke ribs. He was taken to Regions Hospital with life-threatening injuries and was expected to remain hospitalized for about two weeks. The father could not help him because of his disability, according to reports based on the complaint. The teen’s name was not released in the public reporting because he is a minor. Prosecutors identified him by initials in court records. The father was also identified by initials.
After the shot, police say, Way went back into the house and lay down on a couch. Witnesses said he was intoxicated. The complaint says he asked why police had been called and said he did not care that he was going to jail. Say allegedly took a small black handgun from Way and brought it into the home. Investigators later obtained a warrant and searched the house. They found a 9 mm Citadel handgun in a green crossbody bag in the basement, according to court records. Police also said Way had a green bag containing 9 mm ammunition when he was arrested.
Say gave investigators more than one account, according to the complaint. He first denied being outside when the shooting happened, then changed his story after police said surveillance video showed him near the car. He later said he tried to talk Way into handing over the gun and that a struggle began. Say said he hid the weapon to stop his father from shooting anyone else. The teen rejected that version, saying there was no struggle between Way and Say over the gun when he was shot. Prosecutors charged Say separately in connection with hiding the firearm.
The complaint also says another son of Way came to the scene and told police Way and Say were mentally unstable. That statement is not a medical conclusion in the court file, and the public record did not show a judicial finding on Way’s mental state. The criminal case remains at an early stage. Way is presumed innocent unless convicted. The charge filed against him focuses on great bodily harm, a level of injury reflected in the teen’s internal wounds and broken ribs.
The next stage is procedural. Ramsey County records show the case was filed April 9, with Judge Paul Yang assigned. Way’s next hearing was scheduled for May 13. Reports said he remained jailed on $200,000 bond. Prosecutors may use the firearm, ammunition, witness accounts, medical records and statements attributed to Way to argue the shooting was intentional. The defense could challenge the sequence of events, intent or the meaning of statements made during arrest.
For now, the fire stands as the event that police say Way could not let go, while the assault charge stands on what happened months later in a car outside the Hoyt Avenue home. The teen survived, the fire has not produced a public criminal case, and Way’s court file remains active.
Author note: Last updated May 5, 2026.