Gunman dead, police officer wounded in Roseville confrontation
Updated: April 6, 11:50 a.m. | Posted: April 5, 11:04 p.m.
Roseville police say a man suspected of a Tuesday night shooting spree near Lake Owasso, north of St. Paul, is dead. An officer was shot in the face but is in stable condition.
Police officers were called about 7:30 p.m. to a report of gunfire along West Owasso Boulevard, between Minnesota Highway 36 and Interstate 694, about a mile northeast of Roseville City Hall.
Briefing reporters Wednesday morning, Erika Scheider, the Roseville police chief, described a chaotic scene as officers immediately came under rifle fire as they arrived. The suspect fired about 100 rounds at officers and nearby homes, she said.
The wounded officer was rushed to the hospital by his colleagues. The chief said the officer, whom she declined to name, had been with the department for three years.
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“Listening to how things unfolded last night, I could not be prouder of the bravery and the courage that was demonstrated by our officers — knowing innocent lives were on the line, they ran to the threat and they did exactly what they were trained to do. All of this knowing their partner had just been struck by gunfire," she said.
The 53-year-old suspect lived in the neighborhood and has been connected to “multiple mental health-related calls” in the past, Scheider said. He had been moving around the scene in a wooded area and was located by an officer around 8:30 p.m. outside a home. Gunfire was exchanged and the man was shot and died later at a local hospital, she said. Scheider declined to say who shot the man, citing the current state investigation.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which typically investigates deadly force incidents by law enforcement officers in Minnesota, will conduct the investigation, she added, noting that officers were wearing body cameras and that video was turned over to the BCA.
Minnesota State Patrol troopers and Ramsey County sheriff’s deputies set up roadblocks in the neighborhood, and part of West Owasso Boulevard remained blocked off for investigators for at least part of the day. Scheider said the crime scene was large and complex.
Deputies in camouflage and body armor were walking through the area late Tuesday night, and police were searching the area and checking on residents.
Watch the Roseville police chief speak to reporters Wednesday on the shooting: