MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Minneapolis woman is charged with murder for selling carfentanil-laced heroin. to a man who later died of an overdose in Chaska.

Leah Victoria Peterson, 25, is charged with one count of third degree murder for selling a schedule 1 controlled substance.

According to the Carver County Attorney’s office, Peterson and another man drove to a Super America near 27-year-old John Michael Hall’s residence in Chaska to sell him heroin. Prosecutors say Hall got into the car with Peterson and the other man, bought the heroin from Peterson and injected it into his arm.

Peterson told prosecutors she and the accomplice were worried about the heroin because they were “fairly confident” it was laced with fentanyl, a powerful opioid. In fact, the Carver County Medical Examiner found cafentanil in Hall’s system — an opioid 100 times stronger than fentanyl.

Hall’s roommate found him dead in the living room of their apartment on Water’s Edge Drive the next morning.

At a court hearing Tuesday, Peterson’s bail was set at $1 million, or $250,000 under supervised release conditions. Her next court appearance is set for Friday.

If convicted, Peterson could face up to 25 years in prison.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A person was shot in the torso Tuesday afternoon near a St. Paul elementary school.

Police received reports of a shooting behind a home on the 400 block of Thomas Avenue at about 1:30 p.m. The home is in the South Frogtown neighborhood, across the street from Jackson Elementary School.

Two people were shot at, but only one was struck. Police says both people met them and paramedics four blocks south of the scene on University Avenue.

The gunshot victim was treated for non-life threatening injuries.

Police are investigating, and say they have no suspects in custody at this time.

SAUKVILLE, Wis. (AP) — A Wisconsin woman is facing charges after her 9-year-old son was tied to the roof of their minivan to help hold down a plastic pool.

(credit: Ozaukee County Sheriff’s Office)

Prosecutors allege 28-year-old Amber Schmunk had her son hold down the molded pool they’d just purchased because it wouldn’t fit inside the van. WISN-TV reports a witness called police after seeing the incident on Sept. 9 in Saukville, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Milwaukee.

Police documents allege Schmunk told an officer she thought it was OK because her father allowed her to do similar things when she was young.

Schmunk is charged with recklessly endangering safety, which is a felony. She’s due in Ozaukee County Circuit Court on Nov. 11.

Court records don’t list an attorney who could speak on her behalf.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

NEW YORK (AP) — Michael Oreskes has resigned as chief of NPR’s newsroom following accusations of sexual harassment that dated back to the 1990s.

Oreskes said in a statement Wednesday that he was deeply sorry to the people he hurt. He said: “my behavior was wrong and inexcusable, and I accept full responsibility.”

He said he told Jarl Mohn, president and CEO of NPR, on Wednesday morning that he would step down. Earlier, Oreskes had been placed on leave and Mohn appointed Chris Turpin as the temporary news chief.

Two women had accused Oreskes of suddenly kissing them when they were discussing job prospects with him in the 1990s, when he was Washington bureau chief of The New York Times.

(credit: SAUL LOEB/AFP/Getty Images)

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The Hopkins Police Department is now among a growing list of metro police departments that are a part of the Vitals Aware Services, which helps police interact with those with emotional and intellectual disorders.

On Wednesday, Hopkins police announced the move that places them along with St. Paul, Roseville and the Three Rivers Park District as the first police departments in Minnesota to use the technology.

Related: Fmr. Mpls. Police Chief Harteau Joins ‘Vitals’ App

The idea is to help police respond to situations where a person may have disabilities you can’t see. Basically the app requires a vulnerable person register online, then wear a bracelet, button or a card that puts out a signal. If they come within 30 to 50 feet of an officer, that officer will get a notification about the vulnerable person’s diagnosis and how they may best interact.

Hopkins Police Chief Brent Johnson says the app will provide officers with critical information when they approach a possibly suspicious situation.

Vulnerable individuals who don’t have a smartphone can use a $20 beacon, which can be clipped to a backpack, belt or clothing.

The Vitals App costs $5 for a law enforcement officer to download. For those with disabilities, it’s just under $10 a month.

Vitals was developed by a St. Paul company, VariAware, Inc., in partnership with The Autism Society of Minnesota.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities in the north Twin Cities metro say two suspects charged with setting off pipe bombs also are accused of theft and damaging property.

Jacob Daniel Hall, 24, and 25-year-old Jennifer Marie Stuey were both charged in connection with the pipe bomb incident and admitted to the explosive as well as other crimes. Authorities located a 3.5 inch pipe bomb in a neighborhood in Ramsey after a contractor working in the area discovered the device and reported it to police.

(credit: Ramsey Police Department)

An investigation shows the suspects built and detonated, or attempted to detonate, at least six explosives over the course of the past year. Authorities say at this point, there is no evidence that suggests an ongoing threat. It’s also not believed to be connected to a bomb threat at the Comfort Suites Hotel back on June 5.

(credit: Ramsey Police Department)

Authorities say the suspects are responsible for dozens of other crimes. They include stealing holiday light projectors, garden and lawn ornaments and shooting metal balls with sling shots at garage doors and fences.

Anyone who thinks they might be a victim of this type of crime and hasn’t filed a police report should call (763) 427-1212 and make a report. Authorities are working with victims to return stolen property.

RICHFIELD, Minn. (WCCO) — A memorial now marks the spot of a killing that’s gone unsolved since the summer.

Someone gunned down 24-year-old Jonathan O’Shaughnessy in Richfield four months ago.

On Wednesday, friends and relatives dedicated a bench in his memory at the scene of the crime. A plaque reads “Loyal ‘Til the End.”

(credit: CBS)

Police say O’Shaughnessy was walking home from a dance with his mother and aunt when someone drove by and opened fire. His family worked with the city on the memorial bench overlooking.

“It’s a sacred spot now in such a beautiful setting to have that contrasted to what happened. It’s still mind-boggling,” Brian O’Shaughnessy, Jonathan’s father, said.

The reward for information in the case has grown to nearly $15,000.

NEW YORK (AP) — The suspect in a deadly truck rampage was inspired by the Islamic State group’s online videos and plotted his New York City attack for two months, renting a truck ahead of time to practice turning it, federal authorities said in a criminal complaint bringing terrorism charges against the Uzbek immigrant.

Sayfullo Saipov chose the attack date to target Halloween crowds, according to the criminal complaint. And after his trail of terror was halted by a police bullet, he asked to display the Islamic State group’s flag in his hospital room, saying “he felt good about what he had done,” authorities said.

Brought to court in a wheelchair, Saipov was held without bail on charges that could bring the death penalty. Separately, the FBI was questioning people who might have information about his actions before the attack, including a second Uzbek man.

The charges against Saipov, 29, came just a day after the attack near the World Trade Center killed eight people. Investigators in multiple states raced to retrace Saipov’s steps and understand his motivations, which they said were illuminated by a note he left by the truck: “Islamic Supplication. It will endure.” The phrase “it will endure” commonly refers to the Islamic State group, and Saipov had a cellphone loaded with the group’s propaganda, an FBI agent said in the criminal complaint.

Handcuffed and with his legs shackled, Saipov nodded his head as he was read his rights in a brief court proceeding that he followed through a Russian interpreter. Outside court, his appointed lawyer, David Patton, said he hoped “everyone lets the judicial process play out.”

“I promise you that how we treat Mr. Saipov in this judicial process will say a lot more about us than it will say about him,” Patton said.

The FBI released a poster saying it was looking for one of Saipov’s associates, Mukhammadzoir Kadirov, only to announce less than 90 minutes later that it had found him. A law enforcement official said Kadirov was a friend of Saipov’s and may not have any role in the case. Saipov didn’t have many friends, the official said. The official wasn’t authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity.

A married father of three and former commercial truck and ride-hailing driver, Saipov began planning an attack a year ago and settled on a truck assault a couple of months ago, according to the criminal complaint.

During the last few weeks, Saipov searched the internet for information on Halloween in New York City and rented a truck to practice turns. He chose a route along a lower Manhattan highway and initially hoped to continue to hit more pedestrians on the Brooklyn Bridge, the complaint said.

Ultimately, Saipov sped down a bike path on a riverfront esplanade in a rented truck for nearly a mile Tuesday, running down cyclists and pedestrians, before crashing into a school bus, authorities said. He was shot after he jumped out of the vehicle brandishing two air guns and yelling “God is great!” in Arabic, they said. Knives were found in a bag he was carrying. A stun gun was found inside the truck.

In the past few years, the Islamic State group has exhorted followers online to use vehicles, knives or other close-at-hand means of killing people in their home countries. England, France and Germany have all seen deadly vehicle attacks since mid-2016.

The fact that a note was left at the scene was significant, because it showed he was following their instructions to the letter, NYPD Intelligence and Counterterrorism head John Miller said Thursday on “CBS This Morning.”

“He was following the ISIS instructions which says if you’re going to do this you need to claim credit for ISIS or we won’t know you’re one of us and to yell it out, post it online or their magazine even suggested leaving leaflets and this seems to touch on that last piece,” he said.

Saipov’s court appearance came just hours after President Donald Trump said he would consider sending Saipov to the Guantanamo Bay detention center in Cuba — an idea the White House reinforced by saying it considered Saipov to be an “enemy combatant.” Detainees at Guantanamo accused of supporting militants have faced military tribunals, rather than trials in the U.S. legal system.

By afternoon, though, Saipov was in federal court facing charges that include providing material support to a terrorist group. Trump’s administration could, at least in theory, still send the suspect to the U.S. base in Cuba later, though such a step would be unprecedented.

Late Wednesday night, the president took to Twitter to say that Saipov should get the death penalty.

Trump also has called for eliminating the 1990s visa lottery program that Saipov used to come to the U.S. in 2010.

Miller said Saipov had never been the subject of a criminal investigation by the FBI or New York police, but appears to have links to people who have been investigated. He wouldn’t elaborate. Miller said Thursday he appeared to be the only suspect, but he cautioned the investigation was relatively fresh.

The attack killed five people from Argentina, one from Belgium and two Americans, authorities said. Twelve people were injured.

City leaders vowed New York would not be intimidated and said Sunday’s New York City Marathon would go on as scheduled, with increased security.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Police in Colorado plan to seek murder charges against an ex-convict suspected of killing a man, stealing guns from his trailer, then heading to Utah and fatally shooting a student during an attempted carjacking.

Austin Boutain and his wife, Kathleen Boutain, were both named as suspects Wednesday in the death of 63-year-old Mitchell Ingle, whose body was found in his trailer Tuesday, Golden, Colorado, police spokeswoman Karlyn Tilley said in a statement.

Investigators believe the Boutains met Ingle only a few days before his death, describing their encounters as “chance meetings” at a creek near Ingle’s trailer home.

Authorities also plan to recommend a murder charge against Kathleen Boutain.

Police in Utah describe the couple as drifters who drove Ingle’s pickup truck from Colorado to Utah, then gave it to another transient couple after they arrived on Saturday.

They’re also suspected of taking three guns from Ingle’s trailer. Austin Boutain used one of those handguns in the slaying of 23-year-old Chinese computer-science student ChenWei Guo in a canyon near the University of Utah campus, police said.

Austin Boutain, 24, told investigators he killed Guo and then fired two rounds at Guo’s friend so there would be no witnesses, according to jail booking documents.

The friend, a female University of Utah student, told police she escaped after the gunman tried to drag her up a canyon. He narrowly missed her and she called police to report the killing, University of Utah police said.

The killing sparked a massive manhunt. Police say Boutain evaded it by crawling over hillsides north of campus, making his way through neighborhoods and into Salt Lake City, where he was spotted by an alert librarian about 15 hours later and arrested.

Boutain was booked Tuesday into the Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of aggravated murder, robbery and other charges. He will likely face charges in Utah first, and then be extradited to Colorado, Golden Police Capt. Joe Harvey said.

No attorney has been listed for him or his wife.

Colorado authorities said they also plan to recommend robbery and motor vehicle theft charges against the couple.

Boutain admitted to Utah police that he stole guns from Ingle. He said he hid a .44-caliber Ruger handgun used to shoot Guo in a crevice of a brick wall near the Salt Lake City homeless shelter, but when he returned it was gone.

He traded a second gun, a .38-caliber Smith and Wesson, for an ounce of marijuana, the jail documents state. The third, a rifle, was found by police at a makeshift camp in the canyon were he’d been living near the university.

Investigators from Colorado have also interviewed the husband and wife and say they are the only suspects in Ingle’s death.

Austin Boutain has a rap sheet that includes drug, car theft and weapons charges in Minnesota and Alabama dating back to his days as a juvenile.

He was paroled in May after serving a year and a half in an Alabama prison for being a convicted sex offender and failing to report his whereabouts to police.

His parole was transferred this spring to Wisconsin, where he has family, but he skipped and a warrant for his arrest was issued Aug. 31, about a week after he last checked in with his parole agent, according to authorities.

Police say Guo, a devout Mormon from Beijing, was in the area popular with hikers with his friend when they encountered Boutain, who’d been staying in the makeshift camp with his wife in the canyon.

Kathleen Boutain went to campus Monday to report an assault by her husband, touching off the chain of events that led to Guo’s death, police said.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The black teenager shot several times by police in a north metro park in May refused to drop what appeared to be a handgun and pointed it at officers before they opened fire, authorities say.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman announced Thursday that the four Crystal police officers who shot at the teen will not be charged after his office concluded that they were justified in using deadly force. (Dash cam video of the shooting can be seen here.)

(credit: Hennepin County)

The teenager — Khaleel Thompson, who was 18 at the time of the May 24 shooting – suffered gunshot wounds to his back, abdomen and head. He survived, and authorities say he’s expected to make a full recovery.

“The officers not only pleaded with Mr. Thompson to drop his weapon, but used a non-lethal bean bag rifle first, in an effort to get him to drop the gun,” Freeman said in a statement announcing his decision. “All those measures failed and ultimately the officers feared for their lives and fired numerous shots.”

An investigation into the shooting was conducted by the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. According to Freeman, it found that Thompson had a history of depression and a seeming desire to be fatally shot by police.

In 2015, officers in St. Louis Park found Thompson in the street with an ax, saying that people were going to die. After police persuaded him to drop the weapon, it was later learned that he’d called 911 in hopes of being shot and killed by police.

Twice in 2016, the teenager was hospitalized because he was threatening suicide. Doctors reported that he wanted “death by police.”

In January, he again was found in the street with a weapon; this time, a knife. While in the hospital after the incident, he expressed frustration that officers wouldn’t shoot him and allegedly said: “Maybe I’ll just get a gun.”

Just two days before he was shot in May, Thompson returned to Minnesota from a treatment program in California. In just hours, the friend’s family he was staying with in Golden Valley called police, saying Thompson was talking about suicide.

Crystal police responded to the home, and Thompson convinced them he was alright. The family, however, told the teenager he needed to find somewhere else to go.

Before he left the morning of May 24, he took a pellet gun that belonged to his friend and used dark nail polish to cover the orange tip. Just before 9 a.m., Crystal police were called to Bassett Creek Park on a report of a man with a gun.

(credit: Hennepin County)

Officer Bryan Elfstrom arrived first and told Thompson several times to drop his gun, the attorney’s office says. “Not today,” the teen reportedly said.

The next two officers to arrive on the scene were Mason Barland and Txheng Vang. Barland fired two bean bags at Thompson, and one of them struck the teen, bringing him to his knees. A fourth Crystal officer, Kathleen Gomez, yelled at Thompson, saying, “What are you doing? What are you thinking?”

When Thompson got up from being shot with the bean bag, he allegedly raised the BB gun with both hands, pointing it at Barland. Elfstrom immediately opened fire, striking Thompson in the head. The other officers fired at least one shot, some multiple rounds.

Thompson fell to the ground, and officers recovered the pellet gun, a knife and his cellphone. Investigators later learned he’d made a 911 call to police just minutes before the shooting.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – After at least two incidents last month, officials at Macalester College say there have been at least two more discoveries of a swastika marking in a residence hall.

School officials say two incidents were reported in early October, and two additional swastika markings were found at Neill Hall. It’s a building that’s home to several language programs, the Human Resources Center and IT services.

Those markings were found on the second and fourth floors of the building and were documented, removed and reported to the St. Paul Police Department.

School officials said Thursday at least two more markings have been found in residence halls since then. Officials say a swastika was found drawn on a bulletin board in the east wing of GDD Residence Hall and based on information, the incident likely happened on Oct. 27.

Officials say a swastika was also discovered carved into a room door in a residence hall, likely on Saturday, Oct. 14.

Authorities say anyone with information about either of the incidents should call Macalester Campus Security at (651) 696-6555 or the Office of Student Affairs at (651) 696-6220.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 28-year-old Fairbault woman used a key in her mouth to help free herself inside a squad car after she and a man led the officer on a high-speed pursuit in a stolen vehicle, according to charges filed in Dakota County.

Ariel Ann Beckman faces four felony counts that include receiving stolen property, fifth-degree controlled substance crime, attempted theft of a motor vehicle and attempted escape from custody in connection to the October 30 incident.

According to the criminal complaint, a law enforcement officer on routine patrol in Inver Grove Heights observed a gray Toyota pickup truck that was reported stolen in South St. Paul that day. After following the vehicle, the officer attempted a traffic stop but the vehicle fled.

During the pursuit, the vehicle reached speeds of 60 mph in residential areas, leaving the road at times, before the rear tires blew out crossing a railroad track. The vehicle came to a stop and the driver, identified as 35-year-old Robert Andrew David Gomez, and passenger, identified as Beckman, were then arrested.

Ariel Beckman (credit: Dakota County)

After being transported to Dakota County Jail, the officer allowed the two to smoke a cigarette inside the squad car while arrest reports were being prepared. Gomez was seated in front due to an injury and Beckman was in back. Once the reports were completed, the officer removed the cigarette from Gomez’s hand. At that time, Beckman, no longer handcuffed, reached her hand out of the car window and opened the rear door.

(credit: Dakota County)

Beckman then allegedly opened the driver seat of the squad car and put the car into drive. While the car was lurching forward, the officer quickly pulled the keys from the ignition, stopping the vehicle. Beckman continued to fight the officer for the key fob, but stopped when the officer threatened to use his Taser.

When jail staff arrived to assist, they informed the officer that Beckman has a history of removing her handcuffs in the past.

The officer also found a pipe in Beckman’s right boot that tested positive for a trace amount of methamphetamine. Beckman has a previous conviction of possession of drug paraphernalia in July 2017.

In a review of the squad video inside the vehicle, Beckman is seen turning to Gomez and saying “I have a key.” She then spit out the key into Gomez’s hand, who helped remove the handcuffs from her hands. Gomez then reached up to the camera and pulled out the wires, which shut off the recording.

Beckman could face up to five years in prison for each of two felony counts (stolen property and controlled substance) and up to 2.5 years per the two other charges.

THORNTON, Colo. (AP) — A man suspected of fatally shooting two men and a woman inside a suburban Denver Walmart was arrested 14 hours later following a brief car chase Thursday that ended at a congested intersection during the morning rush hour, police said.

Scott Ostrem, 47, was arrested after police pulled over his car about 5 miles (8 kilometers) from the Walmart store in the city of Thornton, police spokesman Victor Avila said.

Television footage showed Ostrem, with close-cropped hair and wearing a red polo shirt, standing silently and staring down as he was handcuffed. Avila declined comment on whether Ostrem had a weapon when he was arrested.

Police had yet to determine a motive for the shooting, which occurred late Wednesday inside the busy Walmart about 10 miles (16 kilometers) north of Denver in a busy shopping center. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives joined local police in the investigation.

Witnesses said a man walked into the store, opened fire and fled. Dozens of shoppers and employees dropped to the ground and rushed to escape as police cruisers and ambulances raced to the scene.

Aaron Stephens, 44, was in the self-checkout line when he heard a single shot followed by two bursts of gunfire. Then people ran for the store’s exits.

“The employees started screaming. Customers were screaming. They were running like crazy, and I ran out too because I didn’t want to get killed,” he said.

Two men died inside the store, and a woman died later at a hospital, police said. Their identities were not immediately released, and it was not known if the suspect knew them.

No Walmart workers were injured in the attack, said spokesman Ragan Dickens. Dickens added that there is no evidence that Ostrem ever worked for Walmart. The store remained closed Thursday, he said.

Authorities identified Ostrem as a suspect after reviewing surveillance footage from the store.

Avila said police went to a Thornton apartment early Thursday and did not find Ostrem there, but received an anonymous tip that he was driving a red Mitsubishi in the area and quickly spotted him. The brief chase ensued.

Ostrem was taken away in a police car and the car he was driving was towed away on a flatbed truck.

Avila said Ostrem had a minor criminal history but did not elaborate. Court records show a charge of resisting arrest against Ostrem in 1999 was dismissed. Records also show Ostrem filed for bankruptcy in 2015.

Ostrem worked for a Denver-based roofing company as a field employee until 2014, said Sandra Runyon, an administrative assistant at Tecta America Colorado Commercial Roofing. Runyon said the company had had no contact with Ostrem since he left. She didn’t provide additional details.

Residents of the apartment building where Ostrem lived in a third-floor unit described him as unfriendly and occasionally hostile.

Teresa Muniz, a 54-year-old meat processor, said most tenants in the building are friendly with each other but Ostrem never returned her greetings. Several times, he swore at people for sitting in the outdoor stairways or leaving laundry in communal machines, she said.

“He wasn’t a friendly person,” Muniz said. “It has to be a really lonely life, and he didn’t seem to have anybody. Being angry all the time. That’s what he seemed like, always angry.”

Muniz said she sometimes saw Ostrem carrying a bow and set of arrows or a shotgun into or out of his apartment.

Gerald Burnett, a 63-year-old retiree who lives in a first-floor unit, said he was sitting on the stairs drinking coffee one morning when Ostrem came down the steps. Ostrem told him to move and cursed at him, Burnett said.

“Dude had an attitude, big time,” Burnett said. “He’s the type of person if you said ‘good morning,’ he wouldn’t say nothing. If you greeted him, he wouldn’t say anything back. I just learned not to even talk to the clown.”

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A former teacher at St. Thomas Academy is facing charges after she was accused of sending inappropriate text messages to students and giving them drugs and alcohol.

Prosecutors in the city of Mendota Heights say Kristin Marie Vanyo, 45, will be charged with two gross misdemeanor counts of “furnishing alcohol to persons under 21” and two misdemeanor counts of disorderly conduct.

(credit: CBS)

Mendota Heights Police previously said Vanyo sent inappropriate text messages to at least three students. WCCO obtained a search warrant on the investigation in May which said Vanyo told officers she wrote a paper for a student in exchange for marijuana and bought alcohol for students before prom.

The gross misdemeanor charges each carry a maximum penalty of one year in prison while the misdemeanors allow for 90 days in prison. Prosecutors haven’t yet set a court date for Vanyo.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — An 18-year-old Plymouth man is charged with sharing child pornography on social media and email.

The case is one of many keeping law enforcement busy across the state.

Tips to the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension about suspected illegal online activity involving children continues to rise.

So far this year, the BCA has received 1,660 tips.

That surpassed the 12,000 tips received in all of 2016.

In February of 2016, tips from Google led Plymouth police to a house on 43rd Place North.

By June of that year, police had a search warrant and took laptops, thumb drives and SD cards from the house.

Alec Cotter was 16 when the investigation began. He is now 18 and charged as an adult with 13 felony counts.

Investigators found more than 45,000 images. Children as young as 6 were shown in some of them.

“You’re seeing more and more people for whatever reason get involved in viewing these types of images, which makes it problematic,” said Kyle Loven, the national director of Computer Forensic Service in Minnetonka.

Loven has 22 years of law enforcement experience, the past 13 spent as chief division council for the FBI.

He says the rise in child porn cases is disturbing.

“The problem is perhaps proliferating, but law enforcement is right on the heels of some of these folks who are engage in these activities,” Loven said.

The BCA says it sees lots of tips coming in from specific platforms like Google, ChatStep, DropBox, and Pinterest.

“With the sophisticated methods of law enforcement gaining steam and gaining momentum, law enforcement is much more capable of finding out who is doing this and much more capable of apprehending them,” Loven said.

Some experts say the rise in child porn is partly because of the ability to cheaply store lots of data.

Loven says Computer Forensic Services is working with 38 law enforcement agencies across the state to close in on those trying to exploit the most vulnerable.

Cotter is expected to make his first court appearance Nov. 16.

The BCA says the best way to protect your children from predators is to make sure you are aware of what they do online and they know to come to you if someone asks them to share personal images.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Minneapolis police are dealing with something they rarely see: An attack on a police horse.

Over the weekend, officers arrested a man they say punched a horse during bar close in downtown Minneapolis.

Police immediately caught 22-year-old Jacob Solberg of Minneapolis and booked him into the Hennepin County Jail. Minneapolis police say this is not something they take lightly, because that punch could have created a very dangerous situation.

(credit: Hennepin County)

It happened shortly after 2 a.m. Saturday in downtown Minneapolis as hundreds of people filled the streets outside of bars and clubs.

The late night scene in downtown Minneapolis is often quite crowded and can get chaotic. That’s why you’ll often see officers on horseback patrolling the streets.

“They are doing a public service. They are not there to hurt anyone. They are not doing anything wrong. So for someone to walk up and take a punch at a horse or slap at a horse, is kind of shocking,” Corey Schmidt with the Minneapolis Police Department said.

The Minneapolis Police Department has 12 horses. They spend much of their time at a ranch in Maple Plain, where their human partners take care of them and train them.

A big part of that training is learning how to remain calm in loud crowds.

“She’s a brave horse. She does really well downtown,” Schmidt said.

Indigo, known as Indy, is the horse that was punched.

“He literally ran and hit the horse as he was running by past,” Schmidt said.

Police say at around 2 a.m. Saturday along N. 4th Street between 1st and 2nd Avenues, Jacob Solberg ran up to Indy and without provocation, punched the animal in the rear end.

“The horse didn’t react. It did what it was it was trained to do and stayed focused on the task at hand,” Schmidt said.

Indigo wasn’t hurt, but police say someone else could have been. Officers want the public to know the dangers of deliberately trying to scare a horse or striking one.

“When something does happen and they are struck, they can rear up and they can throw the rider. That’s what makes it so dangerous,” Schmidt said.

“What do you think Indigo would want people to know?” WCCO asked Schmidt.

“I think Indigo would want people to know, treat her with respect. Don’t do things that you would do to another human being,” Schmidt said.

Police say Solberg was arrested and held in jail on suspicion of fourth-degree assault before being released. He has a court appearance next week.

The Mounted Patrol Unit is a valuable part of the department. They’re used for crowd control and as a crime deterrent because of their high visibility, also for search and rescue missions.

Here is more information on the Mounted Patrol Unit, where you can make donations to help police care for, train and equip police horses and help the department purchase additional horses.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 73-year-old Vadnais Heights woman faces charges after a child suffered a serious burn under her care, according to charges filed in Ramsey County.

Mary Mork faces one felony count of neglect of child and one gross misdemeanor count of neglect of child in connection to the July 18, 2018 incident.

According to the criminal complaint, on the day of the incident, Mork, a daycare provider at the time, was providing care for a 2-year-old girl. At around 4 p.m., Mork called the girl’s mother and told her that the girl burned her hand around lunchtime, but that the girl was doing well so she didn’t need to be picked up early.

When the mother came to pick up the girl, she was shocked to see how badly her daughter’s hand was burned, the complaint said. A physician who later treated the girl said the injury qualified as “substantial bodily harm.”

Mork told authorities she did not see what happened to the girl to cause the injury and said maybe the girl touched a bowl full of green beans Mork carried downstairs. Mork said she has seen a lot of scrapes over the years and didn’t think the girl’s injury was as serious as it was, the complaint said.

Medical professionals said a burn of that nature was not caused by bumping a hot bowl, and suspect the injury pattern reflects a flow burn associated with liquid.

Mork’s daycare license was suspended on July 25, 2018.

If convicted, Mork could face up to 5 years in prison on the felony charge and up to a $10,000 fine.

BANCROFT, Iowa (AP) — North-central Iowa law enforcement officials say three people have been found dead in Bancroft.

The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation says in a news release that the Kossuth County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call Friday morning reporting two people found dead in a Bancroft home.

Bancroft police officers who were first to arrive at the home also found a third person there dead.

Police have released no other details, including the names of the dead or how they died. Officials have only said there is no on-going threat to the public.

Officials say the names of the victims and more details will be released following notification of the victims’ family members and the completion of autopsies.

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MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A Minnesota man has been sentenced to 37 and a half years in prison after fatally shooting a man in Minneapolis last year and fleeing to Florida.

Antwan Darnell Cosey, 38, was convicted last month in a jury trial in the death of 42-year-old Frankie Golden.

On Feb. 27, 2018, Minneapolis police responded to the 700 block of 18th Street East on a report of a shooting. Officers found an unresponsive man — later identified as Golden — with a bullet wound to his chest. He was transported to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

A witness told police Golden was waiting outside to visit with his 9-month-old child. She heard an argument and then a loud pop before Golden ran toward the apartment building and collapsed. Another witness said she saw a man walk up behind Golden on the sidewalk and tell him to move before pulling a gun from his waistband and shooting Golden.

Police used footage from nearby surveillance cameras, as well as testimony from a nearby building manager and electronic key fob records, to identify the shooter as Cosey.

He fled Minnesota to go to Texas, but Florida law enforcement arrested him at a Greyhound Bus station in Fort Walton Beach.

Cosey faced a maximum sentence of up to 40 years in prison because of his extensive criminal history, which includes a number of violent offenses.

In sentencing Cosey, Hennepin County District Court Judge Kathryn Quaintance noted the “senseless” nature of the killing.

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Metro Transit has just announced their next police chief and it’s a Minneapolis Police Department veteran.

Eddie Frizell will assume the post Aug. 5, after having served as 1st Precinct inspector in Minneapolis, during which his duties included ensuring public safety during the 2018 Super Bowl. He has held many positions within the Minneapolis Police Department during his career.

The former Deputy Chief of Police also served as a SWAT negotiator and an internal affairs investigator.

Frizell will take over the department as the eighth chief, following the departure of John Harrington, who is serving as the new Commissioner of Public Safety in Gov. Tim Walz’s administration.

Metro Transit employs 120 full-time and 60 part-time officers, though the organization said they intend on hiring more personnel with the completion of the Southwest LRT line.

“I look forward to leading the group of law enforcement professionals at the Metro Transit Police Department as we continue to serve our region with respect, professionalism and a commitment to guardianship for our riders, employees and the communities throughout our transit system,” Frizell said.

Frizell is no stranger to leadership. He has served 30 years in the Minnesota Army National Guard, deploying twice to Bosnia and Kuwait. Frizell currently holds the rank of Colonel.

Frizell knows his new job of chief of Metro Transit Police will be challenging, but he says he’s prioritized what he will try and accomplish when he starts.

“I will always make sure the guardians of the Metro Transit Police Department reflect the communities which we serve, which is something I want to continue,” he said. “Right now, Metro Transit Police are one of the  most diverse in the state.”