MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – One student was hospitalized and another arrested following a stabbing Tuesday at a Twin Cities high school.
The Bloomington Police Department says officers were called to Thomas Jefferson High School around 12:30 p.m. on a stabbing involving two female students. Police say the incident occurred in the hallway near the front of the school.
During the incident, the school went through normal lockdown procedures. Police say the school resource officer, along with school staff, reacted quickly and separated the two students.
One of the girls was brought to HCMC with multiple stab wounds, police said. The extent of her injuries is not known, but she’s in stable condition.
The other girl was taken into custody by the Bloomington Police Department. Police say a knife was recovered from the suspect.
Students tell WCCO there were two fights Monday at the school, but it is not clear if Tuesday’s fight is connected to those.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The family held hostage by gunman on a crime spree is telling their story.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says Noah Ante Erickson, 34, left a trail of violence Monday night through three metro suburbs. He kidnapped a woman at gunpoint, sexually assaulted her, and then stole her vehicle. He then held a family hostage in their home before stealing their vehicle. Soon afterwards, Erickson died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound while exchanging gunfire with police.
Erickson, who had a long criminal history, was convicted in Anoka County in 2015 of leading police on a chase while his 7-year-old son was in the vehicle.
Even a simple glance at the staircase in her Cottage Grove home will never be the same for Lisa Patterson.
“This was a stranger with a gun here, and it all kind of came rushing back again for sure,” Lisa said.
Craig and Lisa Patterson (credit: CBS)
The front door, still splintered at the handle, marks the beginning of nearly 10 minutes of terror, when Erickson burst through Monday morning.
“He was pointing the gun at my head and said, ‘Who is in the house?’ and I said, ‘My husband and my two children.’ And he said, ‘It’s OK, I’m not going to hurt you,’” Lisa said.
She says Erickson was erratic.
“He kept moving the gun from my head to his own head,” Lisa said.
Erickson then asked for some water. As they moved to the kitchen, she saw police outside with guns drawn.
“It kind of hits you that this is really for real,” Lisa said. “I gave him the water and I said, ‘I’m really afraid for my children upstairs,’ and he said, ‘It’s OK … I’m a dad, too.’ And he said, ‘I think I’m going to die today,’” Lisa said.
Upstairs, Craig soon became aware his wife’s life was in danger.
“I said, ‘I’m at the top of the stairs, I’m coming down,’ and it was very loud, he was yelling to me,” Craig said.
The aftermath of the home invasion (credit: CBS)
As Craig came down, their daughters fearfully waited in their rooms.
“She told me later, she said, ‘I was waiting for the gunshots,’ and she said, ‘I really thought you were a goner, Mom,’” Lisa said.
Erickson then asked for a place to think. The couple suggested their garage, where he went.
“I just ran up the stairs as fast as I could, told the kids there’s a gunman in the house, let’s get out of here, ran down the stairs and we ran out the front door, and the police were yelling, ‘Run! Run! Run!’” Craig said.
With their keys left in the truck, Erickson drove off, and soon crashed in a nearby yard. The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s office says he fatally shot himself during a shootout with police.
The Pattersons still wish no one had to die that day, but being alive to tell their story is what they’re holding on to.
“I certainly looked at the blue sky a little differently today,” Lisa said. “You definitely thank your lucky stars for the way things turned out.”
The officers involved in the shooting — Cottage Grove Police Captain Gwen Martin and Woodbury Police Sargent Omar Maklad — are on paid leave, which is standard. Martin is an 18-year veteran of her department, and Maklad has been on Woodbury’s force for 16 years.
The BCA is leading the investigation.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The wife of a Good Samaritan is sharing her late husband’s devotion to his neighbors.
A gunman shot Javier Sanmiguel in September after he raced outside to help a car crash victim. The St. Paul businessman is survived by his four young children and wife, Kayla.
As her new reality sinks in, she told WCCO’s Reg Chapman how faith kept her husband from ever fearing death.
“We were so happy, it was such a good life,” Kayla said.
For eight years, Kayla had the love of her life by her side.
“It’s so freeing to be loved that well. He loved me and the kids so well,” she said.
Kayla and Javier Sanmiguel (credit: CBS)
Javier loved his family, his faith and his community, and lived his life in a way that honored it all.
“Every encounter with every human being is significant. He just lived that way, and he displayed that for our children, both through how he parented them, but also … they watched him live his life,” she said.
Javier was the proud father to 6-year-old Javier, 4-year-old Emilia, 3-year-old Isabel and 1-year-old Petra.
“But then the downside to their ages, that for them to know him and to remember him, I have to help them, and I definitely will,” she said.
Kayla wants her children to know about their dad’s sense of humor, and selflessness the night he died.
“It was such a loud crash that we knew it was something different than a normal accident,” Kayla said.
Stepping outside, Javier was first to check to see if everyone was OK.
“A neighbor said, ‘I see him in the back, I think he’s injured’ … and he just marched right back there and leaned down to open it, and of course that was what he did,” Kayla said.
Kayla Sanmiguel (credit: CBS)
She’s grateful that her children will only have memories of how their father lived.
“The blessing is that they don’t have a traumatic memory of that night. They slept through it. I don’t know how, it was a miracle,” Kayla said.
Javier’s greatest pride was having a happy and thriving family — one that continues thanks to friends and strangers who are wrapping them in care.
The family of suspected killer Lionel Eaton says he was paranoid before the shooting. Eaton’s attorney says he feared for his safety. The case is back in court next month.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – A 53-year-old man was arrested Tuesday in western Wisconsin for his 10th drunken driving offense.
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation says state troopers found the Tomah man around 6 p.m. in a stalled vehicle blocking a lane of traffic on Interstate 94 in Jackson County.
RELATED: Wisconsin Senate To Consider Tougher Drunken Driving Penalties
The man showed signs of impairment and was arrested. He is currently in the Jackson County Jail pending formal charges.
WCCO is not naming the man because he has yet to be formally charged.
As of last year, the maximum penalty for being convicted of a 10th DWI in Wisconsin is 15 years in prison.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A 39-year-old Minneapolis woman amended her plea to guilty in the fatal stabbing in downtown Minneapolis in May.
Shermeika Franklin pleaded guilty on Monday — the day her trial was set to begin — to second-degree murder without intent in connection to the May 25 fatal stabbing of 42-year-old Mesheka Willis of Minneapolis.
The criminal complaint states that the fatal stabbing occurred near 910 Hennepin Avenue South. There, police say surveillance video shows Franklin arguing with Willis, the two circling each other and then Willis staggering away and falling to the ground. Franklin then quickly leaves the area.
Investigators said they later received a call from a woman who said Franklin called her and said she stabbed Willis.
After her arrest, Franklin told police that Willis had been bothering her all day before the incident, according to the complaint.
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner ruled Willis died from a stab wound to the chest.
Franklin is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 2. She’s expected to get 153 months in prison, or nearly 13 years.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Three people have been charged with first-degree aggravated robbery after a Burnsville jewelry store was held up by earlier this week.
According to the criminal complaint, the incident happened Sunday afternoon at a store located on the 800 block of County Road 42 West, outside of the Burnsville Mall. Witnesses told investigators three men entered the store wearing partial disguises and armed with sledgehammers.
The robbers ordered people to get on the floor and began smashing jewelry cases, taking a number of diamonds and other jewelry pieces.
There were six employees and six customers in the store when this happened, some of whom told officers they feared for their lives.
Two employees told investigators that they noticed suspicious behavior from a man the day before, who appeared nervous and asked whether they kept additional diamonds in a vault in the store. They said it appeared he was studying the layout of the store.
Because the robbers ended up taking a GPS tracker with their haul, authorities were able to find them and take them into custody, in a van that had been reported stolen from a hotel parking lot in Bloomington earlier.
They’ve been identified in charges as 28-year-old Marquell Lamar Evans, 19-year-old Trevon Shukur Edwards, and 26-year-old Antoine Devell Scott. The charges state that Scott attempted to give law enforcement a false name.
ST. PAUL, Minn. (WCCO) – St. Paul’s Police Chief says he has a plan to combat recent violence in his city.
So far in 2019, 27 people have been killed.
St. Paul police have been working around the clock trying to get ahead of the gun violence that has reached record numbers in the capitol city.
Officers are using a three-pronged approach, prevention, intervention and enforcement — all working hand in hand to attack the problem.
“Our approach in St. Paul is to make sure that we are aligning all of our available resources to work specifically on this very serious problem that’s occurring in our city right now,” Chief Todd Axtell said.
Chief Axtell says less than 1% of the city’s population is involved in the crime that is impacting the city.
“We need help from family members and friends, people who have relatives or friends that are carrying guns illegally to notify the police department of those activities. It could save that person’s life,” Chief Axtell said.
Stopping the flow of illegal guns is crucial.
“Stolen weapons are a big issue for us right now,” Chief Axtell explained. “We also find guns that are purchased legally and then sold to someone else, so again some of those straw purchases are a concern to us.”
Axtell says officers are unapologetically going after people who are carrying and using illegal guns.
“We know with precision who is most likely to be a victim of gun violence or a suspect of gun violence in our city,” Chief Axtell added.
Chief Axtell says it takes 30 to 40 officers to work each homicide. That costs the city $25,000 in overtime.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — St. Paul police are investigating two separate shootings Wednesday evening — one of which was deadly.
The first shooting happened on the 100 block of East Annapolis Street, on the city’s border with West St. Paul. Police say one person was killed.
The scene of the deadly shooting on Annapolis Street (credit: CBS)
The second shooting was reported at the Holiday gas station on the 500 block of East 7th Street, near Interstate 94 and Highway 52. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says this was an officer-involved shooting, and the person who was shot suffered non-life threatening injuries. No officers were hurt.
This is a developing story. Check back to WCCO.com for further updates.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — Authorities in Dunn County are asking for the public’s help in identifying the owners of a severely malnourished dog.
The animal was located in the area of State Highway 79 and County Road J in the Township of Sherman.
Credit: Dunn County Sheriff’s Office
If you have any information please contact the sheriff’s office referencing the case number 19-12355 or anonymously here.
Here is how to donate to the Dunn County Animal Humane Society.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – The homeless man who pleaded guilty to the fire that destroyed a 117-year-old synagogue in Duluth was reportedly arrested again this week after fleeing a chemical dependency treatment facility.
A warrant issued Monday says that 36-year-old Matthew Amiot fled the Bethel Port Rehabilitation Program that day, just two hours after checking in to the facility. The Star Tribune reports that Amoit was arrested Tuesday night, when officers found him in a car in Duluth.
Last month, Amiot was sentenced to four years of probation with the possibility of a year and a day in prison if he violated the rules. He was also sentenced to a court treatment program and four hours of community service a month.
Amiot pleaded guilty last month to negligent fire charges in the blaze that destroyed the Adas Israel Synagogue. He told investigators that he set clothes on fire to keep warm and the flames got out of control, despite his attempt to put them out by spitting on them.
Following his guilty plea, Amiot was also arrested after violating the terms of his probation then when he skipped town to nearby Superior, Wisconsin.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The former director of nursing at Majestic Pines Senior Living in Grand Rapids is accused of stealing pain pills from the facility.
Kimberly Ann Korpi, 46, is charged with seven counts of felony theft of a controlled substance and one gross misdemeanor count of mistreatment of a patient, court documents filed in Itasca County show. If convicted, she faces a maximum possible sentence of over 70 years in prison.
According to a criminal complaint, Korpi took pills from the medication supplies of patients and stashed them in an overflow cabinet inside of her office that only she had access to. Investigators say this went on between October 2017 and July 2018, adding that in two instances when the pills stopped disappearing Korpi was on vacation.
During an investigation, law enforcement also became aware of issues with missing narcotic pills at Korpi’s former place of employment, River Grand Senior Living in Grand Rapids. In one instance, 60 Oxycodone pills went missing there. It was documented that Korpi was “then somehow able to email a nurse practitioner and obtain an additional 60 Oxycodone pills to replace the pills that had gone missing.”
Patients at the Majestic Pines facility paid for their medications out of their own pocket. They were ultimately forced to pay for medications that they did not need or use. The criminal complaint adds that Majestic Pines patients were in physical pain, and going through withdrawals, because of the shortage of narcotic medication during the time Korpi was the director of nursing.
Korpi is scheduled to appear in court on Jan. 6.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — The District Court of Aitkin County charged Joshua Karjala, 34, with one count of second-degree murder for allegedly strangling Michelle Mary Mae, 35, in early October.
A criminal complaint says Karjala and Mae had arranged to meet each other at his residence for an intimate encounter. He taped the murder, which took place during drug-induced sex.
A judge has set his unconditional bail at $5 million.
Law enforcement found the victim’s missing Jeep on Oct. 4, and then spent the next 10 days searching for her in a five mile radius of the car. Police used K-9s and drones in the search, and looked in nearby bodies of water.
On Oct. 15, the body was found when authorities executed a search warrant at the house of Karjala.
According to a complaint, officers found a trap door in the residence. He had hidden the victim’s body, and some of her clothing, behind a newly constructed cinder block wall.
He now faces up to 40 years in prison.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Two teenage boys are charged with second-degree manslaughter in the shooting death of Henry Sibley High School senior Da’Qwan Jones-Morris, 17.
The St. Paul Police Department says Jones-Morris was shot Wednesday afternoon at a home on the 100 block of Annapolis Street, near the city’s border with West St. Paul. Police say a 15-year-old boy told investigators he accidentally shot Jones-Morris while playing with a gun that he didn’t know was loaded.
That teen and a 16-year-old boy were charged in the shooting Thursday. The criminal complaint says the 16-year-old admitted to stealing the gun from an SUV last week. Both are being held at the Ramsey County Juvenile Detention Center.
“So many people are just broken down and shocked,” said friend Alex Hogg.
Students came to school at Sibley High wearing red in honor of their classmate and friend.
“Da’Qwan’s favorite color was always red, so more than like 80% of the school today was all wearing red,” Hogg said.
Jones-Morris played basketball and was a captain on the football team. Friends said the talented athlete was known for making everyone laugh.
Da’Qwan Jones-Morris (credit: Nazesare English)
“He was like the school clown. Like, he would just walk around, make sure everyone was having a good day,” said a classmate named Talya.
Outside the home where the shooting happened, the number “21” is proudly displayed. On Thursday, Jones-Morris’s mother, Monica Jones, posted on Facebook about the “tragic and sudden loss” of her son. She described him as a gifted athlete who was co-captain of Sibley High’s football team, and a key player on the Warriors basketball team.
“Da’Qwan was funny, outgoing, and well-liked by all who knew him,” Jones said. “Da’Qwan’s death is still such a shock, we are just beginning to experience the depth of our pain, grief and loss as family, friends, classmates, and all in our broader community.”
Jones also said her son was actively planning to attend a Minnesota college upon graduating.
Students spent part of the day making cards that will be given to the Jones-Morris family. For now, they hang in the school’s media center to show the impact he left on his classmates.
“The loss of Da’Qwan will leave a void in our school for those who knew him,” Principal Ron Monson said.
Counselors were made available to students Thursday. The principal said that there was a moment of silence, and students were also planning a vigil to remember Jones-Morris.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the Jones-Morris family with funeral expenses.
Jones-Morris’s death marked St. Paul’s 28th homicide this year. City police say they are working around the clock in an effort to curb the gun violence that has the plagued the capitol city in 2019.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — A DoorDash delivery man says he was punched and told to go back to his country after making a Sunday morning delivery to a home near Lake Minnetonka.
On Thursday, victim Haarun Galbayte and Jaylani Hussein, executive director of the Minnesota chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-MN), described the attack, which happened while Galbayte was pulling away after delivery food on the morning of October 27.
“He was flagged down by a gentleman who began immediately verbally assaulting him [with expletives] … ‘Go back to your country!’” said Hussein.
READ MORE: Report: Subway Employee Cited After Telling Muslim Woman To ‘Go Back To Your Country’
The 54-year-old man then punched Galbayte in the head three times.
Police say the attack happened on the 500 block of St. Alban’s Bay Road in Greenwood, just off Lake Minnetonka. The man who owns the $4.5 million home was arrested by South Lake Minnetonka Police after the victim called 911.
The Greenwood home of the man accused of attacking Haarun Galbayte (credit: CBS)
A passenger in a truck leaving the property told WCCO the man was not at home. Police tell us the man was dissatisfied with where Galbayte had left the food. He was arrested and booked into the Hennepin County Jail on suspicion of fifth-degree assault.
“I told him, you know, when he said, ‘Go back to your home,’ and I said, ‘I came from Eden Prairie, I live there,’ and then he said, ‘Eden Prairie is not your home. Go back to where you came from,’” Galbayte said.
Galbayte says he is upset that the man used the same language that President Donald Trump used on Twitter about Minnesota Congresswoman Ilhan Omar, and three other Congresswomen of color.
READ MORE: President Trump’s ‘Go Back’ Remark: In Workplace, It Might Be Illegal
He stressed that he is deeply grateful to the neighbor who helped him.
CAIR-MN says anyone who feels they are being targeted for their Muslim faith should call them, as well as police.
The case is under review by police and a city prosecutor. No charges have been filed.
A DoorDash spokesperson released this statement to WCCO Thursday night:
DoorDash was founded as a platform to connect people with possibility, and we do not tolerate any form of malicious, discriminatory or hateful behavior on our platform. We take the safety of our entire community extremely seriously and are cooperating with local law enforcement in this investigation. We have reached out to the Dasher to offer our support during his recovery, and have deactivated the customer from our platform.
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — At the same time classmates of a 17-year-old shot dead gathered for a vigil, St. Paul city leaders and concerned residents were gathering Thursday night to tackle the city’s problem with gun violence.
Mayor Melvin Carter kicked off the event, telling the crowd he was there not to talk, but to listen.
“We’ve been saying for a very long time, we need to try something different, and we find ourselves still stuck in these cycles,” Carter said.
READ MORE: Fatal Shootings Bring St. Paul Together To Prevent, Understand Violence
People were divided into small groups and given a worksheet with questions on it, like, “When and where do you feel safest in our community?”
Two high school students tell WCCO they are feeling the impact of the recent violence.
“It’s nerve racking that it’s happening just right in our own backyard,” said student Ireland Cook.
Mayor Melvin Carter at a community meeting on St. Paul gun violence (credit: CBS)
“Around my neighborhood, I’ve been hearing a bunch of police sirens,” said student Munita Taol. “It’s kind of scary to me.”
The shootings have been hitting close to home for Sara Hejny as well.
“My son came running in and said, ‘Dad thinks he heard gun shots.’ And that’s something a 6-year-old shouldn’t have to know or understand what that even is,” said Hejny.
Da’Qwan Jones-Morris was killed just a block away from where she lives. Hejny wore a shirt with his photo and football number on it while sharing her thoughts on what needs to be done.
“There’s got to be a priority where they’re going to put the money instead of fixing roads and doing public libraries,” said Hejny. “What good is it going to do if we can’t enjoy those stuff? The money has to go and get some more officers on the street.”
READ MORE: St. Paul’s Police Chief Says He Has A Plan To Combat Violence In The City
Two more meetings like the one held on Thursday are scheduled for next week, and all are welcome to attend.
Tuesday, November 12
Saturday, November 16
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) — It’s the worst case of animal abuse a Wisconsin shelter has ever seen.
When Gabriel first arrived at the Dunn County Humane Society last week, he weighed only 23.5 pounds — when a dog his size should weigh 60 to 70 pounds.
“He was barely able to stand, let alone walk,” said Jamie Wagner, with the Dunn County Humane Society. “He was having a hard time breathing.”
Wagner has been the kennel manager at the humane society for 14 years.
“This is the worst case that I have seen for emaciated and body score condition,” Wagner said.
A deputy with the Dunn County Sheriff’s office found Gabriel abandoned on the side of the highway near Menomonie on Friday. Detectives are investigating this as a criminal case.
Wagner believes this is a case of animal abuse, saying Gabriel smelled like he had been living in a hoarder house when arrived to their shelter.
Gabriel (credit: CBS)
“He didn’t have any burrs on him, he didn’t have any ticks on him. Like I said, he could barely walk, so he wasn’t out running, fending for himself,” Wagner said.
Wagner hopes this abuser is found, to make sure no other animals are treated this way.
“It is a very emotional job, and we see a lot of heartbreak here,” she said.
But Wagner refuses to let this miracle end that way.
“He’s a fighter, and, you know, he still has lots of life left in him and he’s not giving up,” she said.
The shelter named the dog “Gabriel” after the archangel from the Bible.
“He’s definitely got someone up there looking out for him,” Wagner said.
The shelter has already received hundreds of adoption requests, but the shelter says Gabriel won’t be ready for adoption for at least another two months. In the meantime, they say the best way to help is donate.
The shelter is a nonprofit, so all donated money directly to Gabriel and all the animals they serve. Click here to donate.
Anyone with information on who abused Gabriel, call the sheriff’s office at 715-232-1348. Tips can also be left anonymously at DunnCoCrimeStoppers.com
An Owatonna business evacuated Tuesday morning after a bomb threat was reported and a suspicious device located.
When police escorted the suspect from the school they found that she had the knife used in the assault.
A YouTube stunt that involved jumping a personal watercraft over a Clay County road has amassed hundreds of thousands of views and a couple of citations.
Police say a 23-year-old man is in custody after a 75-year-old man was found with grave injuries Wednesday afternoon in south Minneapolis.
