2 officers, 1 first responder killed at the scene of a domestic call in US state of Minnesota; suspect dead

A man armed with multiple guns and large amounts of ammunition shot at police officers from inside a suburban US Minneapolis home that was filled with children on Sunday, killing two officers and a firefighter who was providing medical aid to one of the wounded, AP reports citing authorities.

A third officer was wounded in the shooting in a tree-lined neighborhood of two-story homes in Burnsville, Minnesota, the U.S. The suspect in the shooting also died, officials said.

Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension Superintendent Drew Evans said there was an exchange of gunfire, and authorities were still piecing together details of what he described as a “terrible day.”

The firefighter, who also works as a paramedic, was shot while providing aid to an injured officer, Evans said. He told reporters the paramedic was a part of a SWAT team that had been called to a domestic situation at the home.

Inside, an armed man had barricaded himself with his family, including seven children ranging in age from 2 to 15, Evans said.

He said negotiations lasted for hours before the suspect opened fire. He wasn’t specific on the exact amount of time, but the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association said the standoff lasted four hours before a SWAT team entered the home.

Evans said the suspect had several guns and large amounts of ammunition and shot at the police officers from multiple positions within the home, including the upper and lower floors. Evans said at least one officer was shot inside the home.

“We still don’t know the exact exchange of gunfire that occurred,” Evans said. “Certainly several officers did return fire.”

He said that around 8 a.m. the suspect was found dead and the family and children were released from the home. None of them were hurt.

City officials identified the slain officers as Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27. Adam Finseth, 40, a firefighter and paramedic for the city since 2019, also was killed.

Elmstrand, a member of the department’s mobile command staff, joined the department in 2017. Ruge was hired in 2020 and was part of the department’s crisis negotiations team and was a physical evidence officer.

Another police officer, Sgt. Adam Medlicott, was injured and being treated at a hospital with what are believed to be non-life-threatening injuries, the city said.

As the bodies of the dead left a hospital, officers saluted, before they were taken in a convoy to the medical examiner’s office. Medical staff watched in scrubs.