Minnesota Gunman Shot Cops, Firefighter Inside His House

UPDATE Feb 23, 2024 1:00 AM CST

Authorities released further details Thursday on the slayings of two police officers and a firefighter-paramedic amid a standoff in Minnesota over the weekend. The three men responded to a a domestic situation at a Burnsville home around 1:50am Sunday, the AP reports. "The officers entered the home and negotiated with [Shannon Cortez] Gooden for about three and a half hours in an effort to get him to surrender peacefully," the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says in a statement. "At about 5:26am, Gooden opened fire on the officers inside the home without warning." Gooden continued to exchange fire with officers as they retreated from the home before fatally shooting himself.

Feb 19, 2024 7:25 PM CST

The Minnesota man who killed two police officers and a firefighter-paramedic on Sunday had a criminal record going back nearly 20 years and was barred for life from owning firearms, authorities say. The gunman who opened fire on first responders in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville was identified Monday as Shannon Cortez Gooden, 38. Authorities said he took his own life after the Sunday morning standoff, the Star Tribune reports. Fox 9 reports that according to court documents, Gooden was convicted of disorderly conduct in late 2004 and arrested for disorderly conduct and domestic assault in early 2005. He was convicted of felony assault after fighting with family members at a mall in 2007.

Gooden lost his right to own a gun because of the felony conviction. The assault conviction was reduced to a misdemeanor after Gooden abided by the terms of probation, but his attempt to have his firearms rights restored in 2020 was rejected, the Star Tribune reports. The Dakota County Attorney's Office told the court at the time that Gooden "had additional encounters with police involving assaults, disorderly conduct and numerous traffic violations demonstrating a continued disregard to obey that law." The attorney's office said two women Gooden had children with had filed for orders of protection against him.

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Authorities said Sunday that multiple guns and a large amount of ammunition were recovered from the home where Gooden had barricaded himself with family members, including seven children ranging in age from 2 to 15, the AP reports. According to court records, Gooden was involved in a long-running dispute over custody and financial support of the three oldest children. By order of Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, flags at state-owned buildings were flown at half-staff Monday in honor of officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, who were both 27 years old, and 40-year-old firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, who was assigned to the SWAT team. (More Minnesota stories.)