Authorities will not file criminal charges against a passerby who shot and killed a knife-wielding man who was attacking others caught up in a multi-vehicle crash in February on a busy Fridley thoroughfare, prosecutors announced Thursday.
"The evidence demonstrates the shooter had no reasonable ability to further retreat, given the physical surroundings, proximity of other people and the actions" of 33-year-old Simon M. Schiffler, a statement from the Anoka County Attorney's Office read.
Because "the shooter had reason to believe he and others were in imminent danger," the statement continued, "the shooting ... was a justifiable use of force under our law."
The man who opened fire on Central Avenue at Medtronic Parkway did have a permit to carry his handgun in public, a law enforcement source with knowledge of the case said.
Prosecutors reviewed police reports, witness accounts and cellphone videos in reconstructing the rapidly unfolding sequence of events.
Schiffler, one of the drivers involved in the four-vehicle crash shortly after 4 p.m., left his truck and grabbed a woman who had also gotten out of her car after the wreck. He pinned her against a car and began groping and kissing her.
Schiffler then approached an occupied vehicle and began stabbing at the window, frightening 57-year-old Irvin Doyle behind the wheel.
Bystanders urged Schiffler to calm down, but to no avail.
