MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO/AP) – A woman is in serious condition at a hospital and a man is dead after a double shooting in Pine County Wednesday night, authorities said.
The Pine County Sheriff’s Office responded to a report of a shooting at about 9:16 p.m. Wednesday on the 29000 block of Sunny Hill Road in rural Pine County. The person who called police said she got a text message from a woman at the residence saying she had been shot by her ex-husband and he was still at the home.
When authorities arrived, they tried to make contact with the victim but weren’t able to. They saw a man exiting the house and standing on the deck. The man refused verbal commands to step away from the house, went back inside and a standoff ensued.
Blackwell said SWAT team members busted into the house with a flash-bang device to rescue the woman.
“We didn’t know if he (shooter) was in there or not,” the chief deputy said. The victim was removed and rushed to St. Mary’s Hospital in Duluth where she was in serious condition.
Tactical officers searched the house and found the suspect in the living room where he was holding a pistol to his head, sheriff’s officials said.
For the next two hours sheriff’s negotiators tried to convince the man to surrender. Blackwell said negotiators, protected tactical shields, were about 10 feet from the suspect who eventually pulled the trigger and ended his life.
Blackwell said the woman had visited the sheriff’s department several weeks ago to inquire about a restraining order.
“Her ex would show up at the house, bang on the door, bang on the windows” and threaten her, Blackwell said. She was in the process of getting legal help, he said.
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