BCA identifies Deputy Tyler Thunstedt as SWAT team member who shot suspect in St. Joseph
UPDATE: The Minnesota BCA has identified the SWAT team member who shot a suspect during last week's search warrant execution in St. Joseph. What follows is a revised version of the original story.
ST. JOSEPH, Minn. – A SWAT team member shot a suspect during a search warrant execution last week in St. Joseph.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is leading the investigation, identified the SWAT team member Monday as Stearns County Sheriff's Deputy Tyler Thunstedt, who has eight years of law enforcement experience.
The BCA says Thunstedt, a Stearns/Benton County SWAT Team member, opened fire with his department-issued rifle on the evening of June 21 when the team was assisting the St. Joseph Police Department in serving a warrant connected to a case involving firearms and threats of violence on the 200 block of Able Street East.
Police were first called to the house the previous day, during which the suspect pointed a gun at officers before fleeing the area on foot. Officers were unable to find him. The Stearns County Attorney's Office issued an arrest warrant after police say the suspect "repeatedly called the police department that night and continued to make threats of violence."
Police say when officers and SWAT team members went to serve the warrant, the armed suspect was seen running away from the home and toward a neighbor's residence. Police say he refused to drop his firearm and comply with their demands, and he then pointed his weapon at a deputy.
Thunstedt then fired three rounds at the suspect, striking him once. No one else was injured.
The suspect, a 38-year-old St. Joseph man, was taken to St. Cloud Hospital, where he remains in stable condition. WCCO News typically does not identify those arrested until they are formally charged.
Thunstedt and other deputies were wearing body cameras during the confrontation, which the BCA is reviewing as part of its investigation.
Thunstedt is on standard administrative leave.