A Saint Peter police officer was shot, and a suspect is dead following a pursuit and standoff that gripped a residential neighborhood in the southern Minnesota city Thursday night, according to local officials and scanner traffic shared by Southern Minnesota Scanner Incidents.
The incident began around 8:20 p.m. when an officer in Mankato spotted a white Ford Fusion, registered out of Brooten, Minnesota, traveling 50 mph in a 35 mph zone.
Officers attempted a traffic stop near the intersection of Highway 14 and Highway 169, but the driver refused to stop and fled north on Highway 169, sparking a pursuit that stretched into Saint Peter.
Pursuit Ends Near Bunker Lane
Officers positioned ahead of the chase near Highway 99 in Saint Peter deployed a tire deflation device in an attempt to stop the fleeing vehicle, but the driver maneuvered around it and kept going through town on Highway 169.
The pursuit ultimately ended in the area of Bunker Lane on the north side of the city, where the suspect ran into a townhome. A woman and a child were reportedly inside the residence at the time.
As officers tried to make contact with the suspect, multiple shots were fired from inside the home. One officer was struck by gunfire and rushed to a local hospital before being flown by air ambulance to North Memorial Hospital in the Twin Cities.
Scanner audio indicated the officer suffered a gunshot wound to the left arm and that responders worked to control the bleeding before the flight crew, Mayo 3 air, arrived to transport him. The injured officer was described as a man in his mid-30s.
A second medical helicopter, North Air Care, was also requested amid unconfirmed reports that another person may have been hurt.
A resident living a few units away from the standoff told Bring Me The News that police evacuated everyone in the immediate vicinity and shut down nearby roads.
The resident said they did not hear gunfire themselves but were moved out of their home around 8:45 p.m.
Another nearby resident reported seeing at least 25 officers on the street, with SWAT and a Tactical Response Team called in, and said commands were being broadcast to the suspect over a loudspeaker. That resident said they did hear gunshots during the standoff.
Shelter-in-Place Lifted After Suspect Found Dead
The Nicollet County Sheriff’s Office issued a shelter-in-place order for the Washington Terrace neighborhood as the standoff dragged on, urging residents to stay indoors and avoid the area.
Despite repeated commands for the suspect to surrender, officers were unable to get him to come out peacefully.
At approximately 10:25 p.m., incident command relayed that the suspect was deceased. The shelter-in-place order was lifted around 10:30 p.m., roughly two hours after the chase first began near Mankato.
Investigators have not released the suspect’s identity, and it remains unclear how he died. The condition of the wounded officer has not been publicly updated. Authorities have also not confirmed whether the woman and child reported to be inside the townhome were harmed or how they were able to leave the residence safely.
This remains an active investigation, and additional details are expected as law enforcement continues to piece together what led to the deadly confrontation on Bunker Lane.
