2 Suspects Dead, Deputy And Officer Shot In Wadena County Shootout

SEBEKA, Minn. (WCCO/AP) — People in a rural town in northern Minnesota are in shock after a shootout between two law enforcement officers and two drivers.

It happened late Saturday night in Wadena County, located about three hours north of the Twin Cities. A Wadena County sheriff's deputy pulled over a driver for a routine traffic stop at about 8:45 p.m. The deputy described a struggle of some kind starting up with the driver. Then a second driver showed up, joining in on the struggle, along with a Sebeka police officer. One of the drivers got out a gun and started shooting. The officers fired back. Everyone involved was hit by a bullet, but only the two drivers died.

One suspect died at the scene and the other died at a hospital in Wadena. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says the wounded deputy was taken by air ambulance to North Memorial Health hospital in Robbinsdale for treatment of serious, non-life threatening injuries. They are now recovering at home. The Sebeka officer was struck in the protective vest and did not require medical treatment.

Sebeka is located about 90 miles east of the Fargo, North Dakota and Moorhead, Minnesota metropolitan area. WCCO spoke with Sequoia Jones and Leah Ward, who live along the stretch of road where this happened.

"We were driving back from Bemidji and we saw like cars stopped on the road and [I said], 'What the heck is going on? So we finally get to her house and we see an ambulance just bailing down the dirt road, I was like, 'OK, this is definitely not normal!'" Jones said.

The BCA is investigating the shooting, and say it's possible dash cam or body-worn cameras will help determine what happened.

It is the state's third fatal police shooting in a week, following the death of a man after a lengthy standoff with law enforcement in Duluth on Friday, and the death of a man near Braham on Feb. 21 after a carjacking in Blaine and pursuit into Isanti County. Both events involved the shooting K-9s, one of which died in Duluth.

(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)