Stillwater officers shoot, kill suspect at apartment complex

Stillwater Police Chief Brian Mueller said officers shot and killed a man Saturday after he fired at them.

Mueller said in an interview Saturday night that officers initially responded to an unknown medical call at the Curve Crest Villas at 2:20 p.m., which was immediately followed by multiple reports of gunshots, including one caller screaming, and officers being informed of a person saying they had been shot. The apartment complex is next door to the St. Croix Valley Recreation Center, and Mueller said there were a large number of children in the vicinity at the time for youth competitions.

He said police arrived to find what he described as an active shooter scene. "[It was] a very scary situation," Mueller said. Multiple law enforcement agencies responded. People in several nearby single-family homes were instructed to shelter in place for a brief period, Mueller said.

He said the suspect fired multiple rounds inside and outside the apartment, and several people were hurt. Officers took fire upon arriving, he said, but none were injured. One officer returned fire in the complex parking lot and shot the suspect, Mueller said. Officers attempted first aid, and the suspect was transported to Regions Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

The two or three people who were injured during the gunfire were treated at the scene, but the extent of their injuries was not immediately clear. Mueller said the suspect, who had several rounds of ammunition for a handgun, was the only fatality, and doesn't believe other suspects were involved.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating. Mueller said it's the first incident of Stillwater officers shooting someone in his two years as police chief.

"This is a town of 20,000 people, so definitely rare, but we still face a lot of the same issues as are faced around the country," he said.