Former Minneapolis council candidate crows that he ‘doesn’t feel bad’ two police officers were killed during domestic callout shootout where paramedic was also gunned down

A former Minneapolis council candidate said he didn’t feel “bad.” Two police officers were shot dead during a domestic call, which also left a firefighter dead.

Officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27, and firefighter and paramedic Adam Finseth, 40, were killed Sunday morning after responding to a “domestic incident” at a Minneapolis home.

The gunman, later identified as 38-year-old Shannon Gooden, then shot himself.

That same day, former council candidate Zach Metzger said in a video on Instagram, “Is it wrong that I don’t feel bad that the police were killed, but I feel bad that the firefighter was killed?”

Activist Metzger ran as a Democratic candidate for City Council Ward 13 and lost last year.

One of his key policies was defunding the police, but he lost by more than 5,000 votes.

In his Instagram video about the shooting, he mentioned the number of people killed by police and the number of police officers killed in the line of duty this year.

He said: ‘2023 was the deadliest year at the hands of police, with a reported 1,348 people killed by police, while 134 police officers were killed in the line of duty.’

He then added, “Is it wrong that I don’t mind that the police were killed, but I mind that the firefighter was killed?”

In an interview with Southwest Voices during his campaign, he said, “We have alternatives to traditional police, which are so often extremely dangerous to our neighbors.”

Officers were called shortly after 2:30 a.m. to a report of a “family in danger” at a home on 33rd Avenue South, Burnsville.

They spoke with the shooter, Gooden, who claimed he was unarmed and had children at home. The officers then entered the home where they spoke with Gooden for three and a half hours.

Police said Gooden then opened fire on the officers inside the home without warning. During the shooting, he fired more than 100 bullets at officers.

Ruge, Elmstrand and a third officer, Medlicott, were initially believed to have been shot inside the home.

Medlicott and Wical returned fire while in the house, hitting Gooden in the leg.

They then left the house while trying to get to an armored vehicle on the road outside and were shot again. Finseth was then shot and killed while trying to give them medical attention.

Gooden subsequently died by suicide, when officers searched the home they found multiple guns and ammunition.

He listed the number of people killed by police in 2023 and the number of police killed in the line of duty

Burnsville Police Officer Matthew Ruge. Officers were called shortly after 2:30 a.m. to a report of a “family in danger” at a home on 33rd Avenue South, Burnsville.

Burnsville Police Officer Paul Elmstrand

Burnsville firefighter and paramedic Adam Finseth

An on-the-spot alert was sent to phones in the area 15 miles south of the city center.

Police said the armed man barricaded himself in a Burnsville home with seven children.

Gooden rented the home where first responders arrived, according to property records.

He was previously convicted of disorderly conduct in 2004 and 2005, and of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in 2007.

Court records also show that the state banned Gooden from owning guns after he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon in 2008, at age 22.

Prosecutors said he threw rocks and pulled a knife at a man in the parking lot of a Burnsville shopping center.

Notably, Gooden also had a petition to restore his right to a firearm that was denied in 2020 and became embroiled in a years-long dispute over the custody and financial support of his three eldest children.

That’s what the authorities said NBC News he was in possession of several weapons and large quantities of ammunition.

He and his girlfriend lived together with seven children – the three eldest by one woman, two more by another and that woman’s two children from a previous relationship – between the ages of two and fifteen. the house safe.

His standoff with police came just two days before a scheduled district court hearing into his ongoing legal disputes with the mother of his three eldest children.

Online court records show that those children spent most nights with him, but he still wanted to return to court. The archives don’t say why.

When he unsuccessfully petitioned the court in 2020 to restore his gun rights, he and his attorney said he had grown up and regretted his past bad decisions.

Minnesota Governor Tim Walz has ordered flags to fly at half-mast from sunrise tomorrow, and the killings have shocked police departments across the state.

‘We are devastated. Our law enforcement community is heartbroken,” the Minnesota Police and Peace Officers Association tweeted.

‘We are simply devastated by the terrible loss. These heroes leave behind loved ones and a community that will forever remember their courage and dedication to protecting Minnesotans.”

Dozens of heavily armed officers took to the streets of Burnsville early Sunday morning after the shooting

Officers had been called to a report of a “family in danger” at a home on 33rd Avenue South, about 15 miles south of downtown Minneapolis

Authorities in the state are expected to be informed at a press conference soon

Dozens of heavily armed police officers took to the streets and a SWAT vehicle was seen with multiple bullet holes in the windshield.

A barricade situation arose amid fears that hostages were being held in the house and the gunman is believed to have committed suicide shortly before 6am.

“While responding to a call of a family in danger, two police officers and a firefighter were killed and other officers were injured,” the governor tweeted.

“We should never take for granted the courage and sacrifices our police officers and first responders make every day. My heart is with their families today and the entire state of Minnesota stands behind Burnsville.”

Rep. Jim Nash tweeted: “My heart is heavy for the families of these officers, the community of Burnsville, and for our country because this headline is not unique.”

“I learned from law enforcement this morning that three officers were shot in Burnsville,” Senator Amy Klobuchar added.

‘They did their job. They protected our community.”