With authorities on scene, trucker fatally shoots himself in Rochester shopping center parking lot

State troopers and Rochester police officers were on the scene at the time.

May 5, 2021 at 3:10PM
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A man inside a semitrailer truck shot himself outside a Rochester shopping center, police said. Credit: Minnesota Department of Transportation traffic camera (The Minnesota Star Tribune)

A man inside a semitrailer truck fatally shot himself outside a Rochester shopping center Wednesday morning with state troopers and police on the scene, authorities said.

The gunfire occurred about 8:30 a.m. in the parking lot of the Miracle Mile Shopping Center just off Hwy. 14, said Rochester police spokeswoman Amanda Grayson.

Law enforcement fired no shots, and no officers were injured, read a statement from the state Department of Public Safety (DPS). The driver's identity has yet to be released.

About 6:45 a.m., three troopers stopped the truck for a vehicle inspection, then attempted to detain the driver for failing to provide identification, the DPS said.

"The driver took out a gun and fired two rounds," the agency said, "both of which were self-inflicted shots to the head."

The man was taken by emergency responders to a nearby hospital and pronounced dead, the DPS continued.

Law enforcement kept a large area of the parking lot surrounded by police tape until into the afternoon, with the flatbed semi inside the perimeter in front of ABC & Toy Zone.

Grayson said she was not aware of any stores needing to be evacuated.

Paul Walsh • 612-673-4482

573506923
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
573506923
(The Minnesota Star Tribune)
573506923
A man inside a semitrailer truck shot himself outside a Rochester shopping center, police said. Credit: Minnesota Department of Transportation traffic camera (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
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Paul Walsh

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Paul Walsh is a general assignment reporter at the Star Tribune. He wants your news tips, especially in and near Minnesota.

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