Zach Osterberg, of the Savage Fire Department, hugs his son Lincoln as they paid their respect at three memorials in front of the Burnsville Police Department in Burnsville, Minn., Monday, Feb. 19, 2024. Two police officers and a first responder were shot and killed early Sunday and a third officer was injured at a suburban Minneapolis home in an exchange of gunfire while responding to a call involving an armed man who had barricaded himself inside with family. (Elizabeth Flores/Star Tribune via AP)
By STEVE KARNOWSKI
Associated Press
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Thousands of law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics packed a Minnesota church on Wednesday for a memorial service for three first responders who were gunned down while responding to a report of a domestic incident at a home with seven children inside.
The Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville has been in mourning in the week and a half since police Officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27, and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, 40, were slain. Investigators say Shannon Gooden, 38, opened fire on them without warning during a standoff at his home, then later killed himself.
Sgt. Adam Medlicott, 38, who was wounded but survived, recalled with humor how Elmstrand, as a rookie, once referred to a getaway car as a “go-away vehicle,” and how Ruge didn’t know what to do on a call when a young woman in crisis resisted going to treatment, and admitted afterward that he messed up. But he said Ruge grew as an officer and was “doing an amazing job” as a crisis negotiator on the day he was killed.
“You can’t reason with evil,” he said.
Medlicott went on to say that he didn’t know Finseth as well. “But I saw you run into the line of fire to save me and my guys. You’re the bravest person I’ve ever known. I will be forever grateful.”
Brad Finseth, the firefighter’s father, paid tribute to the three with a reading from the Gospel of John: “No one has greater love than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s friends.”
The service was held at the nondenominational Grace Church in suburban Eden Prairie, one of the largest churches in the Minneapolis area. Because of the overflow crowd, officials had encouraged the public to watch the livestream from home or at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church in Burnsville. The livestream was viewable on the Grace Church website and its YouTube channel.
A procession of public safety vehicles will head from the Eden Prairie church after the service to Burnsville, where it will pass a fire station, police headquarters and the Burnsville church. Officials encouraged people to line the route to pay their respects.
“So much of this memorial service will be like nothing Minnesota has ever seen,” Minnesota Department of Public Safety spokesperson Howie Padilla told reporters Monday, citing the attendance of not only law enforcement officers but firefighters and paramedics as well.
Authorities have made only limited information about the incident public, citing the ongoing investigation.
According to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is leading the investigation, police were dispatched to the home around 1:50 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 18. Gooden refused to leave but said he was unarmed and that he had children inside. Officers entered and negotiated with him for about 3 1/2 hours to try to persuade him to surrender. But just before 5:30 a.m., the BCA says, Gooden opened fire on officers inside without warning.
The BCA said Elmstrand and Ruge, and Medlicott are believed to have been first shot inside the home. Medlicott and another officer, who was not injured, returned fire from inside the home, wounding Gooden in the leg.
Ruge and Medlicott were shot a second time as officers made their way to an armored vehicle in the driveway, according to the BCA. Finseth, who was assigned to the SWAT team, was shot while trying to aid the officers, it said. Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth were pronounced dead at a hospital. Medlicott is recovering at home.
The BCA said Gooden had “several firearms” and shot more than 100 rounds before killing himself. A court document filed by a BCA agent said the initial 911 call was “regarding an alleged sexual assault allegation.” Authorities have not provided further details about that.
Court records show Gooden wasn’t legally allowed to have guns because of his criminal record and had been entangled in a yearslong dispute over his three oldest children. The children in the house were ages 2 to 15 years.
