Mpls. Shooting Suspect Dead After Police Chase Ends In Crash In Elk River

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A man who was wanted in connection with a shooting in Minneapolis is dead after authorities say he led police on a chase that ended in a crash in Elk River Saturday.

The man died of an apparent gunshot wound, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, and a handgun was found in his vehicle. No law enforcement officers fired their weapons during the pursuit, the BCA said.

The chase began when officers from the Sherburne County Sheriff's Office and Big Lake Police Department saw a vehicle wanted in the Minneapolis shooting going east on Highway 10.

The BCA said law enforcement tried to stop the vehicle using "stop sticks" and a PIT maneuver. The BCA also said the driver shot at law enforcement during the chase.

The suspect driver crashed near Proctor Avenue Northwest and Highway 10 in Elk River. The BCA said he was found dead inside the vehicle.

No one else was injured during the chase.

The man was wanted in connection with a shootout that occurred inside an apartment building near South Ninth Street and LaSalle Avenue in Minneapolis earlier Saturday, the BCA said. The other man involved in the shootout is being treated for multiple gunshot wounds at Hennepin Healthcare.

The Minneapolis Police Department is investigating that shooting, and the BCA is investigating the wanted man's death.

Earlier Saturday, neighbors in the area of the crash said they saw officers with guns drawn swarming the area. Police then went house to house with a warning for homeowners.

"He came knocking on the door, we were out on the back porch so I had to run back in. I mean this guy was knocking hard," witness Lee Overby said. "He's a cop, he was wide-eyed, he had his gun across this way, semi-automatic. And he says, 'You guys are gonna have to go downstairs in case some bullets are flying. You don't wanna be up here.'"

Overby said he listened to officers try to negotiate with the driver to come out and throw his gun out the window.

An hour or so later, he says an officer came by again to say they no longer needed to shelter in place and that a man was dead.

Ken Curtis, who lives on Highway 10, got a front row seat to the chase.

"You know you don't see a lot of that around here, high speed chases and stuff like that," he said. "To see that was kind of crazy."