A former Minneapolis council candidate said he doesn’t “feel bad” that two police officers were shot and killed during a domestic call, where a firefighter was also killed.
Police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27, and firefighter and paramedic Adam Finseth, 40, died after responding to a “domestic incident” at a Minneapolis home Sunday morning.
The gunman, later identified as Shannon Gooden, 38, shot and killed himself.
The same day, in a video posted to Instagram, former council candidate Zach Metzger said, “Is it wrong that I don’t feel bad that the police were killed, but I do feel bad that the firefighter died?”
Activist Metzger ran as a Democrat for City Council District 13 and lost last year.
Former council candidate Zach Metzger said he “didn’t feel bad” about police being killed
One of his main policies was to defund the police, but he lost by more than 5,000 votes.
In his Instagram video about the shooting, he listed the number of people killed by police and the number of police officers killed in the line of duty this year.
He said: “2023 was the deadliest year at the hands of the police: 1,348 people were reportedly killed at the hands of the police, while 134 police officers died in the line of duty.”
Then he added: ‘Is it wrong that I don’t feel bad because they killed the police, but I do feel bad because they killed the firefighter?’
In an interview with Southwest Voices during his campaign, he said, “We have alternatives to traditional police, which are often extremely dangerous to our neighbors.”
Officers were called to a report of a “family in distress” at a home on 33rd Avenue South, Burnsville, shortly after 2:30 a.m.
They spoke with the gunman, Gooden, who stated that he was unarmed and had children inside the home. Officers then entered the home where they spoke with Gooden for three and a half hours.
Police said Gooden then opened fire on officers inside the home without warning. During the course of the shooting, he fired more than 100 bullets at the officers.
Ruge, Elmstrand and a third officer, Medlicott, are believed to have been initially shot inside the home.
Medlicott and Wical returned fire while inside the house, hitting Gooden in the leg.
They then left the house trying to reach an armored vehicle that was on the road and were shot again. Finseth was then shot and killed while trying to provide them with medical care.
Gooden then committed suicide and when officers searched the home they found several weapons and ammunition.
It listed the number of people killed by police in 2023 and the number of police officers killed in the line of duty.
Burnsville Police Officer Matthew Ruge. Officers were called to a report of a “family in distress” at a home on 33rd Avenue South, Burnsville, shortly after 2:30 a.m.
Burnsville Police Officer Paul Elmstrand.
Adam Finseth, Burnsville firefighter and paramedic
A shelter-in-place alert was sent to phones in the area 15 miles south of downtown.
Police said the gunman barricaded himself in a Burnsville home with seven children.
Gooden was renting the home where first responders showed up, according to property records.
He had prior convictions for disorderly conduct in 2004 and 2005, as well as a conviction for second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in 2007.
Court records also show that the state banned Gooden from possessing guns after he pleaded guilty in 2008, at age 22, to second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.
Prosecutors said he threw rocks and pulled a knife on a man in the parking lot of a Burnsville shopping center.
Notably, Gooden was also denied a petition to restore his right to a firearm in 2020 and was embroiled in a years-long dispute over custody and financial support of his three oldest children.
The authorities said NBC News He was in possession of several weapons and large quantities of ammunition.
He and his girlfriend lived together and had seven children (the three oldest from one woman, two more from another, and that woman’s two children from a previous relationship) between the ages of two and 15. It is believed that everyone managed to get out of the house safely.
His confrontation with police came just two days before a scheduled hearing in district court over his ongoing legal disputes with the mother of his three oldest children.
Online court records show those children spent most nights with him, but he still wanted to return to court. The records don’t say why.
When he unsuccessfully petitioned a court in 2020 to have his gun rights restored, he and his attorney said he had matured and regretted his past poor decisions.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz ordered flags to fly at half-staff starting at dawn tomorrow, and the killings have shocked police departments across the state.
‘We are heartbroken. Our law enforcement community is heartbroken,” the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association tweeted.
“We are simply devastated by the terrible loss. These heroes leave behind their loved ones and a community that will always remember their bravery and dedication to keeping Minnesotans safe.”
Dozens of heavily armed officers descended on the street in Burnsville after the shooting in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Officers had been called to a report of a “family in distress” at a home on 33rd Avenue South, about 15 miles south of downtown Minneapolis.
State authorities are expected to hold a press conference shortly.
Dozens of heavily armed police descended on the street and a SWAT vehicle was seen with multiple bullet holes in the windshield.
A barricade situation developed amid fears there were hostages inside the house and the gunman is believed to have committed suicide shortly before 6am.
“While responding to a call from a family in distress, two police officers and a firefighter were killed and other officers were injured,” the governor tweeted.
‘We must never take for granted the bravery and sacrifices our police officers and first responders make every day. “My heart goes out to their families today and the entire state of Minnesota stands with Burnsville.”
Rep. Jim Nash tweeted: “My heart is heavy for the families of these officers, the Burnsville community and for our country because this headline is not unique.”
“This morning I learned from the police that three officers had been shot in Burnsville,” added Senator Amy Klobuchar.
‘They were doing their job. “They were protecting our community.”