St. Paul, MN (KROC-AM News)- Police in St. Paul say a man on supervised release for a violent crime conviction shot at an officer while attempting to flee a traffic stop. 

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Police Chief Axel Henry said the suspect was also out on bail for a weapons case. He was armed with a stolen rifle, armor-piercing ammunition and was also in possession of drugs, police say.  

The incident began when an officer on DUI patrol attempted to stop a vehicle for a traffic violation shortly before 11:00 Monday night. 

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St. Paul Police: Man Convicted of Violent Crime Fired on Officer With Stolen AR-15 During Fleeing Attempt

Henry says the suspect fled an attempted traffic stop and that officer followed but did not pursue the vehicle. The suspect disappeared from the officer’s view. 

Moments later, a different officer found the vehicle about a half-mile from the attempted traffic stop. Henry said the suspect fled again from police and began firing on the officer’s squad out the back window of the suspect vehicle. 

The suspect then crashed into a crashed vehicle and fled on foot. Police chased the man down and brought him into custody after a physical fight, Henry said. 

27-year-old Samuel Cal Flowers was identified as the suspect. He was evaluated at Regions Hospital before being booked into the Ramsey County Jail early Tuesday morning, according to jail records. 

Ramsey County Jail
Flowers. Ramsey County Jail
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A search of the vehicle Flowers was driving led to the discovery of an AR-15 rifle that is suspected of being stolen, armor piercing bullets, eight spent shell casings and additional ammunition. 

Flowers was arrested on suspicion of attempted murder, assault, fleeing, possession of a stolen firearm and firearm possession by an ineligible person. 

Henry said a search of Flowers' person during his arrest led to the discovery of an unspecified amount of suspected fentanyl and cocaine

Court records indicate Flowers was sentenced to 11 years in prison in 2017 for a first-degree assault conviction in Ramsey County. He was granted supervised release last March. 

Henry said Flowers was charged with a weapons violation after being released from prison and that he posted $100,000 bail following a pretrial hearing. 

No officers fired their weapons during the incident and no injuries were reported, Henry said.

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