ATWATER -- The traffic along Montana Avenue West Wednesday hardly resembled the flashing lights, yellow tape and smashed cars observed late Tuesday after Atwater Police Chief Reed Schmidt's car was allegedly rammed by a minivan driven by Brian Robert Detlefsen.
Huddled in the chilly November air, authorities from the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Department, Minnesota State Patrol and Minnesota Department of Criminal Apprehension assessed the scene Tuesday night after Detlefsen, 23, was shot by Schmidt around 9:10 p.m. The two allegedly got into a physical altercation after the accident, leading to Detlefsen suffering a gunshot wound to the abdomen. Schmidt is said to have suffered a severe eye injury.
As of Wednesday, Schmidt was still receiving treatment at Rice Memorial Hospital. He was listed in stable condition. Detlefsen was initially taken to Rice Hospital and later transported to Hennepin County Medical Center.
He is listed in serious condition and has been booked on charges of second-degree assault.
A brutal fight
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Atwater resident Joel Roeske watched Tuesday night's events unfold.
"It was a beating," Roeske said. "It all happened so fast."
Roeske was one of two citizens who called 911 shortly after the accident occurred. He said he saw the wrecked cars and watched as the two drivers struggled with each other before falling down -- one on top of the other -- in the middle of the street. Unable to discern between the two, Roeske said he watched as "the guy on top beat the guy on the ground."
As the first sheriff's deputy arrived, Roeske said he saw one the men kneeling on the ground, pointing a gun. He said he didn't know the man holding the gun was Schmidt.
"If I'd known it was Reed I think I'd have been out there," Roeske said.
Agents from the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension were brought in late Tuesday to survey the scene. Kandiyohi County Sheriff Dan Hartog said the Sheriff's Department is jointly assisting in the investigation.
"They're doing the majority of it, like the actual shooting," Hartog said about the investigation. The bureau will assist with photo, video, sketches, maps and other analysis, he continued.
Peculiar crossroads
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Tuesday's incident wasn't the first time Detlefsen and Schmidt have crossed paths.
Schmidt, who has been Atwater's police chief for 10 years, issued citations to Detlefsen twice in 2005. Atwater Police Officer Paul Schmidt, who is Reed's son, also issued a citation to Detlefsen in November 2004, according to Kandiyohi County court files.
Although the charges in all three offenses were misdemeanors, Detlefsen, who has bounced between addresses in both Willmar and Atwater, has also shown previous signs of aggressive behavior.
In a December 2005 incident, Detlefsen was cited by sheriff's deputies after he showed up at his parent's Atwater home and allegedly tried entering the residence by breaking a window. According to court files, he also abused his mother at her workplace that same day.
In May, Detlefsen allegedly got into a fight with a security guard at the Kandi Mall and was again cited, this time by a Willmar police officer. In all five of these court cases, Detlefsen was issued a fine and received little or no jail time. As part of his probation in May, Detlefsen was ordered to comply with mental health treatment. KARE 11 reported Wednesday that Detlefsen was recently diagnosed with schizophrenia.
