Officer Schneider's Funeral Unites Lake City
LAKE CITY, Minn. (WCCO) – Hundreds from across the state gathered Saturday in Lake City for the funeral of Officer Shawn Schneider, who died after suffering a gunshot wound to the head while responding to a domestic call last month.
The city's streets were lined with those who came to honor Schneider, those who worked with Schneider and those who called him "friend."
Tony Wiebusch, whose 4-year-old son is in the same class as Schneider's youngest child, considered Schneider a friend.
Wiebusch said that when he heard what happened to Schneider, he put himself in the shoes of Schneider's three children.
"I couldn't imagine," he said. "It's a really sad situation."
Schneider's fellow officers lead the procession, followed by hundreds of public safety officials from across the state. A horse-drawn carriage carried Schneider's body from First Lutheran Church to Lakewood Cemetery.
Tyler Sense, a responder for the Goodview Fire Department, said that the public service community is so tightly knit that if one goes down, the community comes together.
Around Lake City, numerous hand-made signs revealed the city's sentiments as it said goodbye to Schneider.
Micki Casey, a Lake City resident who attended the funeral, said, "It's not something that I think our community takes lightly."