Suspect Shot By Police Was H.S. Student In Washington State
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- Authorities say that the suspect who police believe is behind a deadly shooting and high speed chase in the Twin Cities on Wednesday was a high school student in Washington state.
The incident left one man dead at a Maple Grove rest stop along Interstate 94. The police chase that followed ended with the suspect dead and Interstate 694 closed between 35W and 35E, snarling Wednesday morning's commute.
The Kennewick School District confirmed the suspect as Johnathon Mar. They say he was a student at Southridge High School and Tri-Tech Skills Center.
On Thursday morning, the Ramsey County Medical Center also identified the suspect as Mar. Later on Thursday afternoon, the Hennepin County Medical Examiner identified the other person killed as 23-year-old Matthew Paul Maffei.
The district said the senior had been enrolled for a total of seven months between 2011 and 2014, having gone back and forth between Southridge and the Tri-Tech Skills Center.
The incident began at about 1 a.m. Wednesday as police were called to a rest stop on I-94 at Weaver Lake Road in Maple Grove on reports of a shooting. When officers arrived, they spotted the man whom they believe was Mar getting into a vehicle and driving away. They also found a man that had been shot and killed.
Investigators say the suspect led them on a high-speed chase at speeds of more than 110 miles an hour through the north metro before crashing into a set of cable barriers in Shoreview. They say officers then opened fire when Mar got out of his vehicle with a weapon.
Katelynn Lingle, a friend of Mar, said she did not know why he was in Minnesota.
"I honestly can't believe that it happened," Lingle said. "He was mixed up in the wrong crowd and I know deep down JD is not a bad person."
The autopsy report says Maffei had no permanent address, but records on social media say there is a Matt Maffeid who is also from Kennewick, Washington.
At a news conference Tuesday authorities refused to comment on any possible connection between Maffei and Mar.
Investigators are asking anyone with information about the case to come forward. The names of the officers who shot the suspect have not been released.
The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office, Maple Grove Police and the Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are all investigating the incident.
