EVANSVILLE, Minn. - An Evansville man is dead after being shot by a police officer after a chase that ended in Traverse County in western Minnesota.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Jay Johannes Holmgren, 37, was shot by Stevens County Sheriff's Deputy Ron Hensinger after Holmgren had pointed his handgun at a group of law officers on Friday, Oct. 28, along Minnesota Highway 27 in Traverse County.
ADVERTISEMENT
Holmgren was identified Saturday by the Ramsey County Medical Examiner's Office, the BCA said in a news release.
The shooting happened about 90 minutes after Holmgren was approached by a Stevens County deputy about 7:05 a.m. Friday in Donnelly, the BCA said. The deputy found Holmgren alone, apparently slumped over in a pickup on Main Street, the BCA said.
Holmgren then led officers on a 50-mile chase through Stevens, Grant and Traverse counties that included Holmgren shooting through his rear window at law enforcement near Wheaton and ramming a Morris Police Department vehicle in Donnelly, the BCA said. Law enforcement stopped Holmgren by using a PIT maneuver on Minnesota Highway 27 near Traverse County Road 6.
The law officers attempted to negotiate with Holmgren for several minutes before he ignored their commands, the BCA said.
Holmgren left his vehicle and fled on foot, and law officers pursued him into a field, the BCA said in a news release. Five officers in a Traverse County Sheriff's Office vehicle pursued Holmgren and cut him off about 175 yards off the roadway before he could reach a wooded area, the BCA said. Holmgren was 25 yards away from law officers when he pointed his handgun at them and then was shot, the BCA said in a news release.
Officers and EMT personnel attempted to provide aid but the man died before he could be transported, the BCA said.
Hensinger has been with the Stevens County Sheriff's Department for three years and prior to that worked for five years as a University of Minnesota-Morris Police Department officer. He has been placed on standard administrative leave during its investigation, the BCA said.
ADVERTISEMENT
Stevens County Sheriff Jason Dingman said he couldn't comment specifically on the shooting but did say it is standard procedure for the officer involved in the shooting, including the officers who did not fire weapons but were in close proximity, to be placed on administrative leave during the investigation.
Once its investigation is complete, the BCA will turn its findings over to the Traverse County Attorney's Office for review.
Deputies from Traverse and Grant counties and police officers from Morris and Wheaton and a Minnesota State Patrol officer joined the Stevens County deputy in the pursuit.
"All the officers involved are safe and not injured," Dingman said.
