Deputy Opens Fire During Struggle With Suspect Near Litchfield, Sheriff Says
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- A Meeker County sheriff's deputy fired their service weapon Sunday afternoon during a struggle with a suspect near Litchfield.
The sheriff's office says deputies were called to a residence in Darwin Township at about 12:30 p.m. on "a report of an unknown individual entering an occupied residence" off of Highway 24. The suspect left the scene before deputies arrived, but they found him soon after down the highway, riding a scooter.
Deputies say the suspect -- a 37-year-old Litchfield man -- gave them a false name before getting back on his scooter, fleeing to his home and going inside. Deputies followed, then waited outside his residence until the man fled again, this time in a pickup truck.
The man sped to another Darwin Township residence, where he ditched the truck and tried to drive off in another vehicle. Deputies were able to use a Taser on him before he fled again, and the sheriff's office says one of the deputies fired their gun at one point during that struggle. No one was hurt.
The man is awaiting criminal charges in the Meeker County Jail, and is expected to make his first court appearance Tuesday. WCCO typically doesn't identified suspects before they are formally charged.