A man fatally shot his wife and then himself over the weekend on farmland in Dakota County, officials said Wednesday.
Officials suspect murder-suicide in shooting deaths of couple found in Dakota County field
The shootings occurred Sunday in a field east of Farmington, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office said.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
August 28, 2024 at 6:52PM
The Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office identified the Oakdale couple as Smith Coop Brown, 65, and Payao Vang, 27.
The shootings occurred Sunday in Empire near E. 210th Street and Clayton Avenue, the Sheriff’s Office said.
Brown’s son became concerned about the couple after they did not return home after going to their leased farm plot. The son and another family member went to the farm site and found Brown and Vang dead, according to the Sheriff’s Office, which was notified of the deaths about 8 p.m. Sunday.
“At this time, evidence leads us to believe that Mr. Brown took Mrs. Vang’s life and then his own,” a Sheriff’s Office statement read. “Two handguns were recovered on-scene: One in Mr. Brown’s hand and another in his jacket.”
She’s charged with being Shannon Gooden’s straw buyer when his felony record prevented him from making the purchases.
