Interstate 694 police shooting leaves murder suspect dead

Interstate 694 police shooting leaves murder suspect dead

Police kill shooting suspect after he brandishes weapon at the end of high speed persuit

Police fatally shot an armed suspect Wednesday on Interstate 694 in the suburbs of north St. Paul MN., after a high speed pursuit ended in the suspect crashing his vehicle. The incident began shortly after 1 A.M. at a rest stop near Interstate 94 and Weaver Lake Road, in the city of Maple Grove.

According to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, police received a report of a shooting at the rest stop. When the first officers arrived they found a male dead from a gunshot wound.

A person who witnessed the alleged murder was able to relay information about the suspect to authorities. This witnessed described a vehicle fleeing the scene as a red SUV.

A short time later police officers searching for the suspect spotted a vehicle fitting the description in the area of I 694 and I 94, Maple Grove Police Chief Eric Werner said in a statement.

Police officers attempted to pull the vehicle over with the driver of the SUV refusing to stop for the police cruisers which had their lights and sirens on. The driver then led police on a 20 mile, high speed chase.

Police officers from multiple area agencies, aided by a Minnesota State Highway Patrol helicopter pursued the suspect down the interstate as he passed through several cities. The high speed chase ended when the suspect lost control of the vehicle and crashed into a wire median on I-694 near Rice Street.

According to initial reports, the suspect then exited the red SUV and brandished a weapon toward officers. Police officers then opened fire on the suspect, fatally wounding him. According to Sheriff’s officials, a Brooklyn Center police officer and a Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy both fired their weapons in the incident.

Sheriff’s officials have not released many details into the shooting. It is unknown if the suspect pointed his weapon at officers or how many times the suspect was hit.

Hennepin County Sheriff Richard Stanek spoke to reporters during a press conference, “There are more questions than answers at this point,” he said. “The investigation is complex because of the number of law enforcement agencies involved, in addition to the complexity of the crimes.”

According to the sheriff’s office, the Minnesota Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will be investigating the I-694 scene. The BCA investigates all state, county and city police officer involved incidents that result in death. BCA agents are on scene, and are in the process of interviewing officers and witnesses.

The rest stop homicide falls under the jurisdiction of the Maple Grove Police Department and will be under investigation by their detectives. The Hennepin County and Ramsey County medical examiner’s offices will handle each crime scene’s respective autopsies.

It is unknown if the suspect knew the victim, or if this was a random act of violence.

The investigation snarled morning traffic as commuters that normally used the interstate had to find alternate routes. According to the Minnesota Department of Transportation, Interstate 694 was closed in both directions between I-35 West bound near Arden Hills and I-35 East bound in Little Canada until shortly after 9 a.m.

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