A domestic dispute that exploded into violence on Valentine's Day left three people dead and a sheriff's deputy wounded in the tiny northwestern Minnesota town of Nevis.
Hubbard County Sheriff Cory Aukes said Friday that the incident began shortly before 8 p.m. Thursday, when dispatchers received a 911 call reporting a shooting outside a home day care in the city, located about 185 miles north of the Twin Cities.
When deputies arrived, they found the body of a woman outside the home. The shooter fled the scene in the victim's car before law enforcement arrived. A second victim, who had also been shot, was still inside the vehicle.
During a 20-minute police chase that followed, the suspect fired at the pursuing vehicles, striking one of the deputies, authorities said. The pursuit continued and the suspect eventually drove into a ditch on County Road 119. A deputy spotted the suspect outside of the car and the two exchanged gunfire. The suspect then got back into the vehicle, where he died.
Aukes provided no other detail on the shootings, including the motive for the initial shooting at Lori's Little Feet Daycare in Nevis.
The wounded deputy was treated at a hospital in Fargo and released, Aukes said Friday. He did not release the names of the officer, the suspect or the suspect's shooting victims.
Family tragedy
A source familiar with the investigation said Friday that the incident began as Bryce and Billie Bellomo dropped off their three children at the home of their paternal grandmother, Lori Wambolt, who runs the day care. Two of Billie Bellomo's sisters — Heidi Pierce and Candi Goochey — pulled up in a car and Bryce Bellomo went outside. An argument ensued and shots were fired, the source said.
Deputies found Pierce's body in the driveway, the source said. Bryce Bellomo fled in a car with Goochey. Pierce, who recently married, has four children. Goochey, who divorced last year, has three.
