A St. Paul gas station employee was fighting with a customer when another man jumped in, punching the employee who then pulled out a gun and fired more than a dozen bullets at the two, striking and wounding each of them, according to assault charges filed Tuesday.

The Ramsey County Attorney's Office charged Antonio Allen Ellis, 22, with two counts of second-degree assault in connection with the Dec. 29 shooting at the ARCO gas station at 306 Larpenteur Av. E. His first court appearance was Tuesday morning.

Two men were brought to Regions Hospital for treatment after suffering noncritical injuries in the shooting.

Officers responded to the shooting at around 7 a.m. at the ARCO gas station. A 34-year-old man was down near the gas pumps with a bullet wound to his back, and officers found a 33-year-old man in a white SUV near Mississippi Street and E. Wheelock Parkway with a bullet wound to his knee.

Investigators spoke with an ARCO employee who identified Ellis as the shooter. The employee claimed that the 33-year-old victim was under the influence of something when entering the store earlier, saying that everything in the store was free for him and that Ellis, who his co-worker said has a "short fuse," began arguing with the man.

Ellis and the man argued before the man suggested they settle things outside. The two left the store and began fighting when another man jumped out of an SUV to "tag team" Ellis, the employee said. Ellis fired at the men afterward, sending one man fleeing in a white SUV and another to the ground before Ellis fled the scene.

Surveillance video confirmed much of the employee's account, showing the 33-year-old enter the store with a woman before he appears to argue with employees. Ellis takes items from the man and returns them to the shelves before escorting the man outside.

Outside, the two begin to fight after the man swung at Ellis who then began to pull a gun from his pocket. The 34-year-old then exited the white SUV and joined the fight, sending Ellis to the ground as the second man appeared to punch Ellis.

Footage then showed Ellis display his gun and fire at the men as they fled. Police later recovered 14 bullet casings, a Glock firearm and an empty Glock magazine nearby. Neither of the gunshot victims had a firearm, charges said.

Ellis turned himself into police but declined interviewing with them. Ellis has a previous conviction for paying an underaged girl for sex after police posed as a minor in a sting operation. That conviction bars Ellis from possessing a firearm.