ST. JOSEPH TOWNSHIP, Minn. (WCCO) – Police are investigating a drive-by shooting in St. Joseph Township that allegedly involved a vehicle carrying an infant.
The Stearns County Sheriff’s Office says the shooting happened along County Road 160 on Wednesday afternoon.
A homeowner contacted police after hearing shots and fearing they were aimed at his home. He reported the shots having come from a pink vehicle.
Deputies located a pink Ford Probe near the scene of the shooting and conducted a “high-risk traffic stop.”
They found 24-year-old Nicole Marie Johnson of Blaine driving the vehicle with her 7-month-old child as well as two other people. Deputies said there was a 0.25-caliber semiautomatic pistol in the car as well as 2.5 grams of meth.
The other two people in the car have been processed on suspicion of making terroristic threats. Jeremy Ross Sterzinger, 24, also faces potential charges of possessing a controlled substance and drive-by shooting. The other passenger — 24-year-old Cassandra Rae Trimble — has been released from custody.
The car belongs to Trimble, the sheriff’s office said.
The incident will be reported to human services over concerns of child endangerment.
