Cold Spring cop shooting probe continues

Winners Sports Bar and Grill
Officer Tom Decker, 31, and another officer responded to a call about a potential suicide in an apartment above Winners Sports Bar and Grill on Main Street in Cold Spring, Minn. when Decker was ambushed and shot behind the bar late on Thursday, Nov. 29, 2012.
MPR File Photo/Tim Nelson

Police continued their investigation Thursday into the killing of Cold Spring Police Officer Tom Decker.

Investigators are still searching for the .20 gauge shotgun they believed was used to kill Decker last Thursday night while responding to calls from the family of 34-year-old Ryan Larson. Larson's family told police they were concerned he was suicidal.

Larson was arrested early Friday morning and held in Stearns County Jail as a suspect in Officer Decker's shooting. But Larson was released Tuesday because the Stearns County Attorney said there wasn't enough evidence to file charges.

Jill Oliveira, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, said Larson remains a suspect.

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"At this point, no one has been ruled out as a potential suspect," she said. "This is an active and on-going investigation and we continue to pursue leads as their identified."

But in an interview with MPR News on Thursday, Larson maintained he had nothing to do with Decker's death.

"I absolutely 100 percent am innocent of this crime," Larson said.

During the interview, Larson said he went to bed sometime between 8:00 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

"I heard nothing until the entrance team was coming down my hallway," Larson said. "They arrested me."