BCA Investigating Officer-Involved Shooting In Willmar
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) – Authorities are investigating after a suspect was injured in an officer-involved shooting Sunday night in central Minnesota.
Willmar police responded at about 5:30 p.m. Sunday to a report of a suicidal male at a home on the 400 block of 11th Street Northwest in Willmar.
Two officers responded to the scene and when they arrived, they located male subject in the backyard of the home holding a gun.
Authorities say at one point during the incident, both officers fired their weapons and injured the man, later identified as 46-year-old Matthew David Smith.
He was treated at the scene before being taken to Rice Memorial Hospital in Willmar and eventually airlifted to St. Cloud Hospital. Nobody else was hurt in the incident.
Both officers -- Marco Vazquez and Anthony Haycraft -- were placed on administrative leave, which is standard in police-involved shootings. The police department does not have body cameras, and squad cameras didn't capture the incident.
The BCA says the incident is under investigation, with assistance from the Minnesota State Patrol and the Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office.