Police say the suspect blamed the boy’s father for a fatal December fire that officials had described as accidental.

ST. PAUL, Minn. — A 61-year-old man was charged after police said he shot a 17-year-old boy in a car on April 7 during a meeting tied to money, grief and a fatal house fire months earlier.

Gyaw Way faces one felony count of first-degree assault causing great bodily harm in Ramsey County. The charge places a December house fire at the center of the shooting investigation, not because authorities have accused the teen or his father of starting it, but because witnesses told police Way believed the father was involved. The teen survived but suffered severe injuries to his liver, lung and ribs, according to charging records.

Police were called at about 3:45 p.m. to the 1500 block of Hoyt Avenue East, a residential stretch on St. Paul’s East Side. Officers found the boy in the driver’s seat of an Acura, screaming in pain and struggling to breathe. His father was also in the vehicle. The boy told officers he had been shot by an older man he did not know. Investigators later identified Way as the suspected shooter. Police said Way had gone back inside the home after the gunfire. During his arrest, officers said, Way spoke mostly in Karen, but said several words in English, including “sorry,” “baby die” and “no accident.”

The complaint says Way had been staying at the Hoyt Avenue home with one of his sons since a December 2025 fire at their own residence. One of Way’s children died in that fire, and Way was overseas when it happened, residents told investigators. Authorities have not described the teen’s father as a suspect in the fire. Local reports citing fire findings said the blaze had been ruled accidental and likely began near a space heater. Still, witnesses told officers Way held a grudge against the teen’s father, described in court records by the initials PN, because Way believed the man had some connection to the deadly blaze. The complaint does not explain why Way believed that.

Prosecutors say the April meeting began with a phone call. Way allegedly contacted the teen’s father and said he had money to repay from an earlier trip to Thailand. The father, who has an amputated leg, got a ride from his 17-year-old son to collect it. When they arrived, Way walked outside and got into the Acura with them, according to court documents. Witnesses told police that Way’s son, Pah Ker Say, 26, also walked toward the vehicle. A gunshot followed. People inside the home looked out and saw Say near the passenger door, asking his father what was wrong with him, the complaint says.

The teen’s injuries were described as life-threatening. The bullet struck his liver and lung and broke ribs before he was taken to Regions Hospital. Court records said he was expected to remain hospitalized for about two weeks. The father was unable to help his son because of his disability, according to reports based on the complaint. The relationship between the two families adds another layer to the case. The father told investigators Way had once been his caretaker. That detail turns the shooting from a confrontation between strangers into an alleged attack involving people who had known each other through care, debt and the aftermath of a family tragedy.

Police also arrested Say, who was accused of hiding the gun after the shooting. Officers said they learned the weapon had been taken into the home and placed in the basement. After obtaining a search warrant, investigators found a 9 mm Citadel handgun in a green crossbody bag in the basement, according to court records. Police also said Way was wearing a green bag containing a box of 9 mm ammunition when he was arrested. Say later told investigators he tried to take the gun from his father when everything “just exploded,” according to the complaint. The teen disputed that account and said there had not been a struggle over the gun when he was shot.

Charging records say Way returned to the home after the shooting and lay down on a couch. Witnesses told investigators he appeared intoxicated. The complaint says Way made a comment asking why police had been called and said he did not care that he was going to jail. Another of Way’s sons later arrived and told police that Way and Say were mentally unstable, according to court records. Those statements are part of the investigation, but they are not findings by a court. Way has not been convicted, and the charge remains an allegation unless proved in court.

The case now moves through Ramsey County District Court. Records show the first-degree assault charge was filed April 9 before Judge Paul Yang. Way remained in custody with bond reported at $200,000, and his next hearing was scheduled for May 13. Public reports did not show a plea or full defense position. Say’s separate case centers on the alleged hiding of the firearm, not on firing the shot. Prosecutors could use witness statements, the recovered gun, medical records, surveillance video and police reports to address how the shooting unfolded and whether it was intentional.

The shooting left the East Side home as the meeting point of two traumas. One family had already lost a child in a fire. Another watched a teenager bleed in the driver’s seat of a car after coming to what police described as a debt repayment meeting. The December fire remains important because of what Way allegedly believed, but the public record described by officials and reports did not show criminal charges tied to that blaze. Investigators have not said the teen or his father caused it.

As of May 5, Way remained charged in Ramsey County, the 17-year-old was expected to survive, and the next scheduled court step was the May 13 hearing. The central question for the case is no longer whether the fire was accidental, but whether prosecutors can prove Way used that belief to justify a violent attack.

Author note: Last updated May 5, 2026.