BREAKING NEWS: Owatonna Shooting
An Owatonna man was taken into custody early Thursday morning after authorities say he fired a gun toward police officers, then later shot himself.
According to the Owatonna Police Department, dispatchers received a call about 8:20 p.m. regarding the 36-year-old; he was reported to be in crisis and had left in his vehicle.
About an hour later, officers spotted the vehicle on West Bridge Street; when they performed a traffic stop on South Oak Avenue and Southview Street, they saw cuts on the driver’s arm.
The man became uncooperative during the stop, the OPD statement says, then reached for a gun and began shooting at the officers before fleeing in his vehicle. He stopped about two blocks away in the 200 block of West McKinley Street, between Oak and Linn avenues.
Law enforcement shut down the area and issued a shelter in place order about 10:15 p.m. Residents in all of Steele and Rice counties received the alert.
The man shot himself about two hours later, the police statement says. He was taken into custody without further incident and transported for medical care.
No officers were injured in the incident; there is no mention if officers returned fire when the man shot at them, though video from the incident shared online clearly indicates two different weapons were fired.
The scene remains under investigation, and some roads may remain closed.
Officers from Steele and Rice county sheriff’s offices and the Minnesota State Patrol assisted, along with SWAT teams from the South Central Drug Investigation Unit and Rice County.
Authorities will release more information as it becomes available.