St. Cloud Hospital Shooting Update: Deputy Shot And Killed; Suspect Dead
60-year-old Aitkin County Sheriff's Investigator Steven Sandberg, 60, was the victim of shooting by a suspect who was treated at the hospital in St. Cloud, Minnesota.
In a report published by The New York Times, the suspect grabbed the deputy's gun and shot him dead early Sunday. Officials said that the suspect died after he had taken into custody who is named Danny Leroy Hammond, 50 years old. Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said that Hammond was not handcuffed in his room during the incident at the hospital.
It was around 5:15 am Sunday, Hammond "gained control of Sandberg's gun and shot him," the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said, according to CNN. "Hammond died in the hospital after being tasered by a security guard to suppress him and taken into custody when he became unresponsive. The suspect even went under surgery before he died," Mr. Evans said at a news conference, as quoted by the source above.
According to Aitkin County Sheriff Scott Turner, the incident was a "whirlwind of events in a very tragic situation." Sandberg has served the Sheriff's office for 24 years and has left his wife and daughter behind. The hospital officials said that autopsies are being performed on Mr. Hammond and Mr. Sanberg and the investigators are making an effort to identify what led to the St. Cloud hospital shooting.
A Law enforcement scanner conversation of the scene was captured by the Minnesota Police website. "We do have an officer down in South 527," the recording stated, as transcribed by StarTribune. Moreso, an officer present on the scene said the "guy got gun away from deputy, shot deputy" and suspect had a cardiac arrest and an officer recovered the weapon.
In a statement on Sunday afternoon, Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton extended his condolences to Sanberg's family calling his death "terrible, senseless murder." "This tragedy reminds us that Minnesota's law enforcement officers risk their lives every day and night to keep us safe," he added.
