5 officers shot in east central Minnesota, suspect not in custody

Five officers have been shot in Minnesota’s Benton County Thursday morning. The suspect is not yet in custody.

According to the county sheriff’s office, the incident occurred near the intersection of 190th Avenue Northeast and Glendorado Road Northeast in Glendorado Township, which is located just west of Princeton.

Officials confirmed with WCCO later that five officers were shot. Three officers are being treated at North Memorial Hospital in Robbinsdale and two others at St. Cloud Hospital. They all have non-life threatening injuries.

Officials say the suspect is still at the scene, but not yet in custody. The public has been advised to avoid the area.

Shortly before 11 a.m., WCCO’s Sky4 chopper observed a person being loaded into an armored vehicle before being taken away to a nearby helicopter.

WCCO crews noted the presence of sheriff’s deputies from Benton and Sherburn counties, as well as Minnesota State Patrol squads. SWAT vehicles have also been seen at the scene, and there is at least one helicopter monitoring the area.

Glendorado Township is located about 60 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

Local officers killed in 2023 shootings

According to the Officer Down Memorial Page, there was one officer killed by gunfire in Minnesota so far in 2023. Pope County, Minnesota Sheriff’s Deputy Joshua Owen was killed in a shootout in April. Another deputy and a Starbuck police officer were also shot, but survived.

There have been four officers killed by gunfire in Wisconsin this year. In February, Police Officer Peter Jerving was shot and killed while attempting to arrest a robbery suspect in the Milwaukee metro area. In April, Hunter Scheel of Cameron and Emily Breidenbach of Chetek were killed in a shootout after serving a warrant at a traffic stop, and Deputy Kaitie Leising, 29, was responding to a call about a potential drunk driver in a ditch in May when “gunfire was exchanged” and she was killed.

Just across the border in Fargo, North Dakota, 37-year-old Mohamad Barakat, shot and killed Fargo Police Officer Jake Wallin and wounded officers Andrew Dotas and Tyler Hawes as they responded to a routine traffic crash on July 14.

SOURCE: CBS news