Son Of New Hope Shooting Suspect Killed By Police Speaks
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The son of the man who shot two police officers in New Hope City Hall Monday night before he was shot and killed spoke with WCCO Radio Tuesday afternoon.
Nathan Kmetz says his 68-year-old father, Raymond Kmetz, had reached the breaking point after years of run-ins with police and city officials.
Raymond had multiple criminal charges and restraining orders against him, jail time and had even been committed to the Minnesota Security Hospital for the mentally ill in St. Peter.
Nathan says all his father wanted was his day in court to defend himself, but says the courts kept him civilly committed in order to shut him up.
Along the way, Nathan says his father lost his long-time landscaping business, his home and had thousands in medical bills he could not pay.
He says as things continued to unravel this past summer, as the family warned his social worker that he had threatened to bring a gun to Crystal City Hall.
Nathan says if his father had wanted to kill someone during Monday night's rampage, he could have.
He says his dad was an avid deer hunter and skilled with a rifle. But more than anything, he believes his father was simply trying to be heard Monday night.
Nathan says the family, including his brother and mother, are devastated, and they have no money for a funeral.
The two officers shot by Kmetz are recovering.