The man shot by law enforcement during a 15-hour siege in rural western Minnesota had been paranoid and acting erratically, leading his family to call authorities about his behavior, court documents say.
Man in shootout with deputies in western Minnesota had raised his family’s concern
Kasey Paul Willander, 27, was shot by SWAT teams after firing at officers at home in rural Clarkfield.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
September 16, 2024 at 11:20PM
Kasey Paul Willander, 27, was behaving strangely Saturday afternoon while possessing a knife and a bow, his mother told a Yellow Medicine County sheriff’s deputy around 3:15 p.m., according to the search warrant from the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office.
Willander left before deputies arrived at the home in Clarkfield, 15 miles south of Montevideo, the search warrant said.
Two hours later, law enforcement said it received a call that Willander had a rifle and was at another relative’s home nearby.
These relatives were forced to barricade themselves in their home as police used an aerial drone to search for Willander, who was hiding in a grove of trees on the property, the warrant said.
As deputies evacuated his relatives from the home, Willander pointed a long gun at the officers, the warrant said.
A standoff ensued. Willander boarded up windows in the home and destroyed cameras on the property, the warrant said.
Police SWAT teams surrounded the home, the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement Monday. Willander again shot at the officers.
Law enforcement set up a perimeter around the house and requested help from SWAT teams after being unable to persuade Willander to come out, the statement said.
After the Kandiyohi-Meeker-Willmar SWAT team arrived, Willander fired at them, too, the statement noted. A member of the SWAT team returned fire at the alleged shooter, hitting him in the leg.
At 6:17 a.m., law enforcement said, the suspect left the home and shot a long gun at them. That’s when a SWAT team member fired back and struck him.
Willander was airlifted to HCMC in Minneapolis, where he was last reported to be in stable condition.
No one else was injured in this incident, the Yellow Medicine County Sheriff’s Office said. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the encounter.
Willander is prohibited from possessing firearms after pleading guilty to third-degree criminal sexual conduct, a felony, in 2015.
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