By Kristi Belcamino

St. Paul Pioneer Press

St. Paul — A fundraising account has been created to aid the father of a 23-year-old law clerk shot to death last week at a law firm in St. Paul’s Cathedral Hill neighborhood.

Chase Passauer of Minneapolis, a clerk in the North Star Criminal Defense law firm on Selby Avenue, was gunned down Thursday by a man police described as a disgruntled former client.

A criminal complaint was filed Friday against Ryan David Petersen, 37, claiming he had been unhappy with how the firm had been handling his criminal case. He also is accused of punching a Woodbury police officer who was arresting him for DWI in November.

The GoFundMe account is asking for $25,000 to help with expenses that Passauer’s father Christopher will incur.

“Chase’s father is a Gulf War veteran and he needs your help with final expenses and time off work for hearings, the trial, sentencing and who knows what else,” the page says.

“Chase was a recent graduate from the University of Minnesota,” the GoFundMe page said. “He was working hard every day to become an attorney. When not at work he regularly traveled the country umpiring college baseball games. Chase was a good young man with a bright future. Chase’s life came to an abrupt and violent end at the hands of a career criminal who was angry because someone didn’t answer the phone when he called. He stormed into the office and fired 6 shots at the first person he saw.”