A Sherburne County judge on Tuesday sentenced a Zimmerman, Minn., man to 30 years in prison for breaking into a pawn shop to steal guns and then using a machete to attack two bystanders who saw him run from the scene.
Manuel R. Buck, 20, was charged with 11 felony counts following the attempted break-in at Zimmerman Trading Post in the early morning hours of July 10, 2021. In April, a jury convicted Buck on five felony counts, including attempted second-degree murder.
According to court documents, a deputy responded to Lions Park in Zimmerman just after 1:30 a.m. July 10, 2021, for a report of an assault. Two men, one bleeding from his head and one from his hand, said they were at a nearby residence when they heard the shop's alarm go off and saw Buck running from the shop.
While the men were chasing Buck, he started swinging a machete and hit one of the men in the head, leaving a 5-inch gash on his head, according to court documents. Responding officers found a machete with blood on it, along with several tools, including lock picks and a crowbar, documents state.
Buck was known to the county and FBI as early as 2018 for making threats associated with mass shootings and bomb-making, court documents state. In 2018, the FBI received a tip that Buck was planning a mass shooting against the Ku Klux Klan; Buck admitted to making the threats but said he didn't have the weapons necessary to carry them out, according to court documents.
In 2019, Buck called police to tell them he created explosive devices; a bomb squad removed several improvised bombs and other bomb parts from his house, documents state.
Then, in 2020, the FBI received a tip that someone with the username "kutekitty333" in Zimmerman was planning a mass shooting at the Mall of America on the day after Thanksgiving, according to court documents. When questioned by authorities, Buck admitted he was talking to someone online about planning a mass shooting at the mall and thought he could kill 10 people before police shot him, documents state.
Sherburne County Judge Karen Schommer sentenced Buck to 360 months in prison with credit for 745 days served.
In a news release issued Tuesday, Sherburne County Attorney Kathleen Heaney thanked the men who chased down Buck.
"The victims are the people who placed themselves in harm's way in this case," Heaney said. "Their selfless actions prevented what could have been grievous harm to many others."
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