A man shot by St. Paul police over the weekend was wanted for killing his pregnant wife, officials confirmed Monday.

Mychel A. Stowers, 36, was shot multiple times and killed by police about 1:45 p.m. Saturday near homes on Bay Street and Watson Avenue, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.

Officers received an anonymous report after 1 p.m. that Stowers was on a bicycle at a laundromat on the 1100 block of West Seventh Street, St. Paul police spokesman Sgt. Mike Ernster said.

Stowers is charged with killing Damara Alexis Kirkland, 35, and her unborn child last month in St. Paul’s North End.

Stowers was not initially spotted at the laundromat by police, but while they monitored the business, he approached the location on a bicycle.

When officers in uniform and marked squad cars followed, they found Stowers armed with a handgun and he then pointed it at the officers, according to the BCA.

Officer Eric Jaworski and Officer Matthew Foy were identified as shooting Stowers multiple times.

Stowers was pronounced dead at the hospital.

The two officers have been placed on critical incident leave.

No officers were injured and the shooting was captured on body-worn cameras, squad cameras and neighborhood security camera video, according to the BCA.

The BCA’s investigation of this incident is ongoing. When the investigation is complete, the BCA will present its findings, without recommendation on charges, to the Ramsey County Attorney’s Office for review.Previously convicted

Stowers was previously convicted of murdering a man in St. Paul in 2008. He’d been on work release since March and the Minnesota Department of Corrections said he was under supervision by their agency and a halfway house.

Kirkland and Stowers married in December 2021 and he filed for divorce at the end of June, according to a court file. The separation was ongoing.

Stowers was granted a pass “to visit his ex-wife,” according to a criminal complaint, during his work release while living in a halfway house.

Police arrived to an apartment on Sycamore Street between Jackson and Agate streets at 9:08 p.m. Oct. 19 after receiving reports from residents who said they’d heard gunshots. An officer found Kirkland lying on the floor of the apartment’s spare bedroom and she was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to criminal charges, after fleeing the scene, Stowers also carjacked a 26-year-old man and shot him in the leg that same day.

Pregnancy abuse risk factor

Five shell casings were found on the bedroom floor. Officers also found ultrasound photos in Kirkland’s apartment and an autopsy found she was eight to nine weeks pregnant.

Kirkland was shot three times.

“There’s a lot of research that indicates that domestic violence can begin or escalate during pregnancy,” Violence Free Minnesota communication manager Meggie Royer said.

Last October, the coalition released a pregnancy and intimate partner homicide data report from 2012-2022 which reported nine pregnant homicide victims within the decade.

Royer said abusers may seek control of or manipulate their partners’ reproductive health. This can look like encouraging them to get pregnant in order to stay in the relationship, controlling their birth control or asking them to have an abortion.

“Sometimes we unfortunately see cases where the survivor becomes pregnant and the abuse really escalates because the partner feels like they’re entitled to have control over their partner’s body,” Royer said. “Then sometimes they feel jealous that their partner has a close bond with their baby and is spending more time with them.”