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“We used non-lethal tactics to bring him peacefully without harming him or our officers,” Duluth Police spokesman Mattie Hjelseth said.
The standoff was preceded by a string of alleged crimes allegedly perpetrated by the 30-year-old suspect, including an attempted bank robbery at gunpoint, car theft and a police chase. No injuries were reported, Hjelseth said.
At one point, the man was seen driving the wrong way across the Bong Bridge between Superior and Duluth.
Citing an ongoing investigation, Duluth Police declined to give further details, saying they were still re-enacting a chaos day that began at 12:30 p.m. Friday and ended several hours later with the emergence of the suspect in police custody half an hour after a percussive detonation is heard.
Tactical teams from Duluth and Superior were on site and authorities negotiated by cell phone with the man for several hours, intermittently sending smoke inside the apartment.
“While inside his apartment, the man fired several shots,” said a press release from Duluth Police. “Our officers did not retaliate.”
The man’s friends, and residents evacuated from the apartment at 601 N. Central Ave., gathered in the parking lot of the Holiday gas station, around the corner of the dead end kittens. Traffic on Grand Avenue and Central Avenue, one of Duluth’s busiest intersections, was closed for several hours.
“He told me he would not be going back to jail,” Jeremy Mitzner, 35, said earlier today. “I don’t want them shooting him.”
Mitzner described himself as a friend of the suspect. It was in Mitzner’s apartment that the suspect barricaded himself after escaping the police. Mitzner was not at home at the time and was contacted by police at his workplace in a local kitchen. Mitzner guessed that the suspect had used his apartment because it was familiar to him.
The suspect was cleared at a local hospital and taken to the St. Louis County Jail.
Laura MacArthur Elementary School, at the top of the dead end block, went into lockdown before it was scheduled to let students out for the day at 2:15 p.m.
Staff were then seen escorting children to their parents’ cars in the presence of police.
Duluth Police Chief Mike Tusken spoke at the start of the standoff.
“Right now our main focus is to try to lock down, obviously, the busy area here,” Tusken said. “We are trying to get people out of the area. We are trying to use the distance to stay safe while we are setting up our tactical teams and officers so that we can secure him in one place so that he is not. more mobile, and ultimately work for a peaceful settlement. “
At one point, Duluth Police suspended their car pursuit of the suspect, “because it was too dangerous to continue,” Tusken said.
The News Tribune generally does not name suspects until they are charged with a felony. The man in custody has been in jail and has eight felony convictions, ranging from domestic violence to gun-related offenses and arson, according to state court records.
Following the chase, authorities located the suspect in Lincoln Park and chased him to the apartment building where the clash took place.
Police were seen escorting people out of this building at around 3:40 p.m.
An unidentified tow truck driver for USA Towing and Recovery in Duluth said towing service dealt with a few vehicles the suspect crashed into on Friday.
Another person who identified himself as a friend of the suspect said: “He’s been talking about cops dying for two weeks now.”
The St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, the Minnesota State Patrol and the Hermantown Police Department also responded to the scene.
Duluth Police also used their CORE unit at the scene, Hjelseth said. It is designed to respond to mental health emergencies and includes social workers and a registered nurse.
“Our CORE unit was on hand to speak to him throughout the incident,” Hjelseth said.
Mike Yeaton, 50, is a store manager who works near the incident.
“There are a lot of mental illnesses that you see,” he said. “There are a lot of people struggling. I’ve been working (here) for 25 years and it’s just getting worse and worse.
Cody Miller, 21, a mechanic who works along Grand Avenue, said he saw the chase that led to the standoff.
“It was flying alongside, at a good speed of 100 mph,” Miller said. “Two cops were following him, a DPD squad and a Sheriff’s Charger.”
This story was updated at 9:45 p.m. with additional quotes and details, at 8:52 p.m. with additional details from the Duluth Police Department, at 8:45 p.m. to report the suspect’s arrest, and at 6:31 p.m. to report the use of non-ammunition. lethal deadlock. It was originally posted at 4:12 p.m.
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