Updated: White Bear Lake man identified in officer involved shooting
Cottage Grove police fatally shot a suspect Monday morning after he allegedly sexually assaulted a woman in St Paul, held a family hostage and stole three cars.
It all started in Maplewood, where the suspect reportedly forced a woman from her workplace at gunpoint and then forced her to drive to her apartment, where he raped her.
According to St. Paul police spokesman Steve Linders, the suspect then stole a vehicle from the home and fled.
Linders said the victim called 911 and reported what had happened. St. Paul police officers located the vehicle in Cottage Grove and notified Cottage Grove police.
At a press conference Monday, Cottage Grove Police Chief Pete Koerner said the suspect stole a second car at gunpoint from a home in Cottage Grove around 8:30 a.m. The suspect drove the car about a block and entered a home, where he took four people hostage.
"It could have been worse," he said. "Honestly, I can't imagine what they family is going through."
As police were setting up barricades and preparing for a possible standoff, the four people in the home escaped, and then the suspect drove off in a pickup truck he stole from the home, Koerner said.
The suspect drove a few blocks before crashing. He took off on foot, but police caught up with him.
"He was armed with a handgun as he encountered officers," Koerner said. "A Cottage Grove officer and an officer from a neighboring department fired their service weapons and the suspect is deceased."
Police did not release how many officers were involved in shooting.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is assisting with the investigation.