Convenience Store Shooting Suspect Leads Police On High-Speed Chase
EAST BETHEL, Minn. (WCCO) -- A shooting at an East Bethel convenience store quickly escalated into a high speed police chase through Anoka County.
The man who was shot near Coopers Corners in East Bethel called 911. Within minutes deputies, police and state troopers were caught in a high speed chase through Anoka county, and it ended along a busy Highway 10 in Anoka.
Westbound traffic on the highway remained closed from Round Lake Boulevard to 7th Avenue until around 8:30 p.m. That's where an officer shot and wounded the suspect.
This was an extremely dangerous chase, reaching speeds well over 100 miles an hour. The suspect -- being chased in connection with the earlier shooting -- ditched his disabled car and ran off Highway 10, but didn't get far.
The call came in as a shooting outside an East Bethel convenience store. One man was down, and his alleged shooter sped off.
"He had a bullet wound and described the suspect in a dark-colored convertible Audi," Commander Paul Sommer of the Anoka County Sheriff's Department said.
Speeds topped 130 miles an hour as more and more officers got involved, and the suspect more desperate.
"The suspect's behavior became dangerous, swerving at squads and officers out of squads," Cmdr. Sommer said.
A Coon Rapids officer finally forced him into a barrier at Highway 10 and 7th Avenue. That's when the suspect jumped out and ran.
"I looked through the window and saw officers run down the exit here, then one shot," eyewitness Marvin Poynter said.
Heather Hunt was at work and saw the swarm of officers.
"Everyone was getting out their guns and suddenly I heard a pop and knew it was a gunshot," she said.
She used her cellphone to stream the aftermath live and watched as the injured suspect was rushed away in an ambulance, leaving a neighborhood in shock and disbelief.
"I watched him wheeled in to the ambulance screaming in pain," Hunt said.
Both the victim and the suspect are being treated for single gunshot wounds and expected to survive. And fortunately, no injuries to officers.