FERGUS FALLS, Minn. -- An estranged husband suspected of shooting at his wife as they were driving in separate vehicles on Interstate 94 near here early Sunday was shot and killed by Fergus Falls police after being tracked down by State Patrol helicopters.
The husband wasn’t identified in a news release sent Monday morning by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
According to the news release:
The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office received a 911 call around 1:30 a.m. Sunday from a woman reporting that her estranged husband had just shot at her as she drove her vehicle.
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The woman told law enforcement she was driving westbound on Interstate 94 between mile markers 54 and 50 just west of Fergus Falls when a vehicle driven by her estranged husband pulled up next to her in the passing lane.
The woman said when she exited I-94 on U.S. Highway 59, the suspect fired another shot. She then turned east on County Road 88, with the suspect’s vehicle in pursuit. The suspect fired another shot, striking the vehicle again. The woman continued east toward Fergus Falls, but the suspect did not pursue her further. She called 911 from a local business. She was uninjured.
Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office deputies, Fergus Falls Police Department officers and Minnesota State Patrol troopers initiated a search for the suspect. They located the suspect’s vehicle in a ditch near a farm field off eastbound I-94 near mile marker 52 west of Fergus Falls. The vehicle was unoccupied. Law enforcement set up a perimeter around the farm field and began to search the field for the driver. A State Patrol helicopter using forward looking infrared, or FLIR, technology located the suspect approximately one half mile from the interstate.
According to the BCA’s preliminary investigation, law enforcement on the ground converged on the suspect and found him armed with a shotgun. He ignored repeated orders to drop the weapon, and then pointed his gun at officers. Three officers fired their weapons, at which point he dropped to the ground. He was declared deceased at the scene.
Three officers fired their weapons:
-- Fergus Falls Police Chief Kile Bergren, 20 years of law enforcement experience, including five years as chief of police;
-- Fergus Falls Police Department Canine Sergeant Connor West has 10 years of law enforcement experience;
-- Fergus Falls Police Officer Matthew Cederberg has five years of law enforcement experience.
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All three officers, and an additional officer who did not fire a weapon, have been placed on standard administrative leave.
The suspect was taken to the Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office for an autopsy and formal identification. That information will be provided once family notifications have taken place.
The Otter Tail County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the incident which led up to the police shooting.
The BCA is investigating the officer-involved shooting at the request of the Fergus Falls Police Department. Once its investigation is complete, the BCA will present its findings to the Otter Tail County Attorney’s Office for review.
