Suspect Who Fatally Shot K-9 Officer Dies, Duluth Standoff Ends

MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- The man who barricaded himself and refused to surrender to Duluth police during a nearly 24-hour standoff is dead after shots were fired, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says.

The BCA is calling the incident an officer-involved shooting, but has not released any other details. They said in a tweet around 6 p.m. that the suspect had died. No police officers were injured during the incident, but a K-9 officer was shot and killed by the suspect.

The Duluth Police Department says the standoff started Thursday night around 8 p.m. after officers responded to a report of domestic assault at a home on the 2300 block of West 4th Street, in the city's Lincoln Park neighborhood.

Police sent a K-9 named Luna to apprehend the man, but he shot the dog. Officers returned fire and retreated from the home. Luna later died at a veterinary clinic.

A woman who was inside the home was safely removed.

RELATED: Procession Honors Duluth K-9 Haas, Killed In Line Of Duty

Police say the man had felony warrants out for his arrest.

Luna is the second Duluth police K-9 officer killed in recent years. In January of 2019, a K-9 named Haas was also shot in the line of duty. Both were handled by Officer Aaron Haller, who was also shot during the incident in 2019.

Luna was laid to rest Saturday. The co-workers of Luna's handler, Officer Aaron Haller, said it's a tough time for the department.

"It's rough for a department to go through that, and especially being as close to Officer Haller and K-9 Officer Luna, it's a little more hard just being in the K-9 unit and experiencing that," Officer Jeremy O'Connor said.

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• Duluth News