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Man Shot In St. Paul Park Police-Involved Shooting ID'd

ST. PAUL (WCCO) -- The 22-year-old man who allegedly shot at police officers in a St. Paul Park standoff has been identified.

Nathan Adam Kluessendorf of St. Paul Park was taken into custody on suspicion of attempted murder and assault on a police officer. Formal charges have not yet been filed.

Police were involved in the standoff with Kluessendorf Tuesday morning -- a situation that a Twin Cities sheriff said is a "miracle" that officers weren't hurt.

According to the Washington County Sheriff's Office, the incident began at about 1:30 a.m. after Kluessendorf was reported to be walking on the train tracks near Pullman and 9th Avenue. Police said he was intoxicated.

Washington Co. Sheriff Bill Hutton said he is grateful that his officers were not injured. In the standoff, terrified neighbors were ordered to their basements and some were evacuated as the Kluessendorf allegedly refused to surrender and began firing at officers.

A special response team was brought in after Kluessendorf went into a house, reportedly with loaded weapons. A man and two women were in the home when the standoff started, but they were able to escape from the home.

The sheriff's department said Kluessendorf shot at police with a rifle and a shotgun, firing multiple times at officers. Neighbors say after tear gas was thrown into the house he came out, but refused to surrender. That's when officers shot him.

"I thought it was fireworks at first and then I heard, "Pop, pop, pop" and I thought, 'Uh oh,'" said Melinda Joyce, another neighbor.

The standoff ended at 6:30 a.m. with no officers being harmed. Kluessendorf was taken to Regions Hospital.

A woman inside the house, identified as 42-year-old Sandra Kay Kluessendorf, was arrested, but has been released pending an investigation.

BCA agents today interviewed several officers who responded to the incident about the standoff and shooting. The officer who fired his weapon, Patrick Nickle, is on standard administrative leave.

Nickle has been a member of the Washington County Special Response Team (SRT) since 2006, serving as a marksman for the past four years. Nickle has also served with the Cottage Grove Police Department for the past eight years. He is a Marine Corps veteran, including combat duty in Afghanistan, and has been in the Army Reserve for the past 17 years.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is leading the investigation with assistance from the Washington County Sheriff's Office.

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