2 police officers, 1 paramedic fatally shot in Burnsville domestic incident; suspect also dead

Law enforcement sources tell the Pioneer Press that three Burnsville police officers were shot — two fatally — and a Burnsville fire paramedic was also killed during a Sunday morning domestic incident in Burnsville.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which will oversee the investigation of the incident, later said that the assailant was also dead. A person with knowledge of the matter said the cause of death was a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

A city spokesperson confirmed that an incident happened Sunday morning in the 12000 block of 33rd Avenue South but was not yet willing to share details. A 4 p.m. news conference has been scheduled.

Law enforcement and first responders from multiple jurisdictions later gathered outside Hennepin County Medical Center in downtown Minneapolis, where the victims were initially taken. Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey was also on hand as the bodies were taken from the hospital via motorcade to the Hennepin County Medical Examiner’s Office in Minnetonka.

The early afternoon freeway procession included three motorcoaches and was accompanied by police and fire vehicles. Other police and fire vehicles gathered on overpasses along the route to show their respect. Other motorists on Interstate 35W sounded their horns in support.

The law enforcement sources say that police were called to a residence on a domestic incident when shots were fired, apparently after a standoff. The shooting was in a residential area just west of the Interstate 35E and Cedar Avenue junction.

A SWAT vehicle had multiple bullet holes visible on its windshield, WCCO-TV reported.

The deaths of the two officers and the first responder were confirmed by the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association, which represents public safety professionals in the state.

No other details were immediately released about what led up to the shooting in a tree-lined neighborhood with two-story homes.

It appears to be the first time a Burnsville police officer has been killed in the line of duty and the deadliest public safety incident  in Minnesota since 1994, when two St. Paul police officers and a police dog were fatally shot.

The Burnsville violence follows what has been a deadly year for law enforcement officers in the region. Three western Wisconsin  officers were gunned down in two separate incidents in April and May; a Pope County, Minn., sheriff’s deputy was shot in April; and a Fargo, N.D., police officer was ambushed in July.

Officers massed near 33rd Avenue and East Burnsville Parkway about 5:30 a.m., a witness told KSTP-TV. The witness heard shots fired and said a shelter-in-place order was then transmitted to mobile devices, according to the station.

A family member of one of the police officers was near Kelleny Road and East Burnsville Parkway Sunday morning weeping as he waited for a police escort. Markus, who works as a pilot for Delta Air Lines but declined to provide his full name, rushed to the scene as soon as his mother told him that his older brother had been killed while on duty. He said he always worried about his brother being a police officer.

Pat Knaeble, 68, a retired fire captain and paramedic with the Burnsville Fire Department for nearly 30 years, lives up the street from where the shooting took place.

He woke up to the chaotic scene outside his home and watched SWAT team members bring three victims to the front of his house where they were put into waiting ambulances, he said.

Having a fellow firefighter shot was hard to comprehend.

“It was like ‘holy crap!’” he said. “It was one in a lifetime … firefighters never get shot. It just doesn’t happen. For that to happen is a huge fluke and just very, very sad. It’s like losing a family member.”

An empty fire truck was parked in front of his house six hours later, its engine still idling.

“In my 28 years, never ever, ever has a truck ever sat without a firefighter in it. Ever,” he said.

The fact that the truck had been sitting there abandoned and idling since 5 a.m. meant that the people assigned to the truck were grieving so much, either at the hospital or at the fire station, that they had forgotten all about the truck.

“That kind of tells you the severity of it,” he said.

Ron Payne, 78, a former Burnsville fire chief, also lives nearby. He said he’s lived in the area since 1983 and that the neighborhood is quiet and has never had anything of a serious nature occur there. As former chief, he keeps in touch with the firefighters and that they are all in his thoughts on this somber day.

“I’m very concerned,” he said. “For my friends and people I’ve known and worked with.”

He was leaving his home Sunday morning to head over to the fire station to offer moral support, he said.

A massive law enforcement presence was at the scene, including personnel from the Dakota and Hennepin county sheriff’s offices along with the Savage, Bloomington, Eagan, Lakeville and Rosemount police departments.

The Law Enforcement Labor Services represents rank-and-file officers and the supervisors of the Burnsville Police Department.

The organization’s executive director, Jim Mortenson, said in a statement that “thoughts and prayers are with the family of the officers and first responder” who responded.

“These officers were struck down while answering the call of duty to serve and protect. We mourn alongside the Burnsville community and the families of those killed,” the statement said.

Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz said the city’s focus Sunday was on its families and its police and fire department personnel.

“I don’t have any information to give you except we have officers down and a paramedic down.” When asked if there was anything she wanted people to know, she didn’t hesitate in answering: “Pray for us.”

Other Minnesota politicians and law enforcement agencies flooded social media with condolences:

“We received horrific news from Burnsville this morning, said Gov. Tim Walz in a statement. “While responding to a call of a family in danger, two police officers and one firefighter lost their lives, and other officers were injured.”

He called it a “tragic loss” for Minnesota.

Walz said he is ordering flags to be flown at half staff starting at sunrise Monday morning.

“Learned from police this morning that three officers have been shot in Burnsville,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar said on X. “They were doing their jobs. They were protecting our community.”

The Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association posted on X, “We are heartbroken. Our law enforcement community is heartbroken.  We’re just devastated at the horrific loss. These heroes leave behind loved ones and a community who will forever remember their bravery and dedication keeping Minnesotans safe.”

“My heart is broken for the brave officers and first responder lost in the line of duty, their families, the Burnsville Police Department and our entire community. For these public servants, this was just another day delivering on their oath to protect and serve — to keep Minnesotans safe. And now their families — and the city of Burnsville — will never be the same,” U.S. Rep. Angie Craig, whose district includes Burnsville, said in a statment.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. This is a developing story and will be updated as officials release more information.