A Roseville murder suspect is in custody after a widespread shelter in place order issued by Ramsey County left many confused and wondering if they were in danger.
Roseville Police Chief Erika Scheider said in a press conference Tuesday afternoon that her department sent out the alert after the suspect--a 17-year-old who officers say assaulted several members of his family--ran away from the scene on foot. She acknowledged that the alert was only supposed to go out to the immediate neighborhood after officers had set up a perimeter, but it went out to a larger-than-intended area.
"That was the original intention, that the 'shelter-in-place' would only go out to this neighborhood," said Chief Scheider.
Phones began buzzing just before 11 a.m. with a shelter in place order reading, “Shelter in place – homicide suspect at large described as 17year old white male.”
According to Scheider, police were called to a home on Ryan Avenue after 10:00 a.m. Tuesday after reports of an assault. There, they found four people injured--two of them severely who had to be taken to a hospital--and one person who was killed. Officers say a weapon was involved, but it was not a gun.
After the alert went out, social media began to stir with many wondering the specific shelter in place location.
St. Paul police told WCCO Radio that the specific area Roseville due to a developing situation, which was later confirmed by Ramsey County.
A short while later, Ramsey County confirmed the suspect was in custody
Residents near where the suspect was taken into custody spoke with WCCO Radio reporter Al Schoch.
"I was working and I was scared out of my wits by the Amber Alert signal,” said Leah Wonderful. “And then it gave me no information."
Scheider said if not for the wider alert, the suspect may not have been located so easily by someone near the Minnesota State Fairgrounds.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, the shelter-in-place alert was distributed locally by local law enforcement. The DPS only assists with statewide alerts such as AMBER Alerts.
In a statement Tuesday afternoon, Ramsey County emergency communications officials took responsibility for the alert going to too many users, and "deeply" apologized for any "disruption" or "confusion" it may have caused. The county is looking into what happened and how it can be addressed moving forward.
This is a developing story.
Related
Related
