Sheriff: 2 Teens Die In Pine Island Murder-Suicide
PINE ISLAND, Minn. (WCCO) -- Authorities are investigating an apparent murder-suicide after two teens were killed inside a southeastern Minnesota home early Monday night.
The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office was called to a home on the 6900 block of 100th Street NW in the city of Pine Island.
"I thought, they must have had someone in pretty serious condition and we didn't hear any more about it. We kept seeing police cars go by," said neighbor Kimberly Pokrandt.
When authorities arrived, they found two people inside the home. One of the two -- an 18-year-old woman -- was dead. A 19-year-old man was "clinging to life," authorities said. Both had what appeared to be gunshot wounds.
A medical examiner will make the official determination as to the cause of death for both, but the initial investigation points to a homicide-suicide.
The man was transported to Mayo Clinic Hospitals, where he died of his injuries.
The teens have been identified as Kayla Jill Koranda, of Rochester, Minn. and Nicholas Bryan Roecker, of Pine Island.
Both were college students. Roecker attended the University of Minnesota-Duluth and Koranda was a student at the University of Minnesota.
The depth of the teens' relationship is not known at this time but it is believed they were just friends. They were classmates and graduated from Lourdes High School in Rochester.
There was only one prior unrelated call to the residence in the past.
The Olmsted County Sheriff's Office said Roecker was a resident at the home where the shootings happened. The scene was discovered by family members who also lived there.
The big question many have is why?
"This is a tragedy that no one wished had occurred and we want to respect the privacy of these two grieving families," said Olmsted County Sheriff Dave Mueller.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension was at the scene Monday investigating. The sheriff's office said that there was no remaining risk to public safety.
Pine Island is located near Rochester.