Police shoot, kill armed man outside day-care center in Ramsey

Police officers fatally shot a man Thursday afternoon outside a Ramsey day-care center after he pointed a gun at them, authorities said.

The shooting led to a 30-minute lockdown of the center that ended when the children there were evacuated to a nearby church, where they were picked up by their parents.

The man, whose identity has not been released, was shot by officers as he ran away from a reported "suspicious vehicle" parked outside the Learning Lodge, 6139 157th Lane NW., according to Anoka County Sheriff's Cmdr. Paul Sommer.

Sommer said workers at the center called police about suspicious activity involving the vehicle, in which three men were sitting. When Ramsey police officers arrived just after 3 p.m., one of the men ran from the car, pointing a gun at them, Sommer said. Officers fired on the man, fatally wounding him.

It was the second fatal officer-involved shooting of the day in the Twin Cities metro area. Early Thursday, St. Paul police fatally shot a man on the city's West Side during a confrontation in which he threw rocks and punched an officer, then charged at police.

Nobody inside the day-care center was injured. The other two men in the car were arrested.

Sommer said it was not known whether the man fired his gun before being shot. Several shell casings from the scene were being examined by experts, he said. What the men were doing in the car or why their presence prompted a suspicious-activity report has not yet been determined.

After being escorted to nearby Independent Baptist Church, the children were entertained with games until their parents were allowed to pick them up in late afternoon.

Many parents were visibly anxious, some in tears as they arrived to collect their children from the church.

Meigan Wills, 29, of Ramsey, was relieved to be reunited with her 3-year-old daughter, Olivia. Wills said Olivia was fine and knew nothing of the shooting, having told her mother that the children were taken on a walk to the church.

"[Olivia] just thought it was playtime and something new to do," Wills said. "I'm just thankful my daughter is safe."

Staff writer David Chanen contributed to this report. Karen Zamora • 612-673-4509