Ramsey County Attorney's Office determines use of deadly force justified in police shooting of Jesse Werling

ROSEVILLE, Minn. -- The Ramsey County Attorney's Office determined that the use of lethal force was justified in the fatal police shooting of Jesse Werling, the gunman who fired over 100 rounds in a Roseville neighborhood last April.

Roseville Police Officer Ryan Duxbury was shot in the neck during the encounter. Duxbury, a three-year-veteran with the department, was taken to a nearby hospital and survived. 

During the incident, which lasted about an hour, Officer Boua Chang fired two rounds at Werling, one of which struck him in the upper thigh and killed him. Officer Bryan Anderson also fired a "volley" of shots, but none of them hit Werling.

Werling, 53, lived in the area and had stolen a .22 caliber rifle with a scope from his mother's Wisconsin home weeks before. North Hudson police notified law enforcement in Roseville of Werling due to "mental health cautions related to resisting police and danger."

MORE: Suspected gunman in Roseville shooting had long history of mental health struggles

According to a memorandum by the attorney's office, Anderson and a social worker met with Werling's father on the afternoon of April 5; he was concerned about his son's well-being. Anderson drove by Werling's house around 7:15 p.m., and at around 7:40 p.m., Werling started shooting "countless rounds" at neighboring homes, many of which were occupied.

Police were called to the 2900 block of Owasso Boulevard. As Werling started to walk around the neighborhood, officers Anderson and Duxbury ran across the street to a residential driveway with a retaining wall. There, Werling fired a bullet that struck Duxbury in the neck.

Body camera video shows Duxbury getting help from officers and making his way back to medics, the memorandum says.

Werling continued to wander the neighborhood and shooting, during which time Anderson fired back with a Roseville police-issued AR-15 rifle.

Chang, who was standing at the corner of a home in the neighborhood, shot Werling at around 8:30 p.m., the memorandum states.

Minnesota law says that use of deadly force by a peace officer in the line of duty can be used to protect a peace officer or another from apparent death or great bodily harm. The law was updated in 2020 to include that the threat must be able to be articulated by the officer. 

The memorandum concludes that use of deadly force by Chang and Anderson were justified, as both knew Werling was armed and shooting in a well-populated neighborhood. The note also acknowledges that both were under an "almost constant barrage of gunfire" and there was no evidence that Werling would surrender.

Multiple homes in the area had dozens of bullets lodged in the walls, and interviews with neighbors describe how they hid in basements and stairwells in order to stay safe.

Ramsey County Attorney John Choi agreed with the memorandum's conclusion.