Update: Shooting In St. Cloud Ends in Chase On I-94, Suspect Dead
MONTICELLO -- St. Cloud police are investigating a shooting that ended with the suspect dead on Interstate 94.
On Monday just after 2:30 p.m., officers were sent to a parking lot in the 1000 Block of 5th Avenue South in reference to a male having just been shot. They found a 20-year-old man from St. Cloud laying on the ground with an apparent gunshot wound to his abdomen.
The victim was taken to St. Cloud Hospital in serious but stable condition.
The adult male suspect, who was known to the victim, had fled the area in a vehicle. Officers put out a description of the suspect vehicle to surrounding agencies.
Several minutes later two Stearns County Deputies located the potential suspect vehicle on Interstate 94, west of Highway 24, near the Stearns County and Wright County border. The deputies attempted to stop the vehicle and it fled eastbound on Interstate 94.
The pursuit continued for several miles and assistance was provided by the Minnesota State Patrol and the Wright County Sheriff’s Office. The pursuit came to an end near Monticello just west of Mile Marker 194 after the vehicle’s tires were deflated using road spikes.
When officers approached the vehicle, the occupant appeared to have suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound. No officers fired their weapons during the incident. The identity of the man who died is being held until further investigation is complete.
The investigation into the death of the driver of the vehicle being pursued is being conducted by the Wright County Sheriff’s Office.
This remains an active investigation. Updates will be given as the investigation continues.
Anyone with information regarding the above incident is urged to contact the St. Cloud Police Department at 320-251-1200, or Tri-County Crime Stoppers at 1-800-255-1301, or at www.tricountycrimestoppers.org