Public memorial for fallen Burnsville first responders will be removed Sunday
BURNSVILLE, Minn. — A Minnesota city is making a change as it mourns the death of three first responders.
Sunday will mark three weeks since Burnsville police officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth died in the line of duty. The suspect died by suicide after killing the first responders, authorities said.
A memorial outside their departments has been growing ever since, as families travel from all over to pay their respects.
"It's a wonderful tribute," said Kevin Nelson, who lives nearby. "We come down almost every day."
Police Chief Tanya Schwartz, who once again paid her respects Wednesday, has said the immense support from the community touches the hearts of her officers.
This weekend, the city will start taking the memorial down.
The city says the space will be sacred that day, while everything there gets carefully sorted through, packed up and safely stored.
"Just kind of symbolizes what we appreciate and what we sometimes don't realize how much they do for us in our community," Nelson said.
Adjacent to the memorial are three statues of first responders, collectively called "Homage." They'll be temporarily taken away too, while a permanent home for the trio is determined.
"When it's done, they're actually supposed to be arranged in a circle with their arms reaching out to symbolize the help reaching out to the rest of the community," said Brady Folkestad, the president of the Burnsville Community Foundation, which commissioned the statues.
Folkestad says "Homage" was created in 2017 but wasn't displayed until now.
"We thought at this time it'd be a wonderful opportunity to unveil it to show our support for the public safety teams," he said. "There is more a sense of urgency from the city staff side, as well as the community, to see this permanently placed quickly."
The city is asking for Sunday to be a private day for fire and police staff to take down the memorials.
Discussions on a more permanent tribute haven't started yet.
Last week, thousands gathered for a public memorial service for Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, followed by an hourslong procession. Sgt. Adam Medlicott, who was wounded in the Feb. 18 shooting, spoke at the memorial, telling the slain men to "rest easy, brothers."
Note: The video above originally aired Feb. 29, 2024.
If you or someone you know is in emotional distress or suicidal crisis, call the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 988 or 1-800-273-TALK (8255). For more information about mental health care resources and support, The National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) HelpLine can be reached Monday through Friday, 10 a.m.–6 p.m. ET, at 1-800-950-NAMI (6264) or email info@nami.org.
