On February 18, 2024, during a police standoff in

Burnsville, Minnesota Burnsville ( ) is a city south of downtown Minneapolis in Dakota County, Minnesota. The city is situated on a bluff overlooking the south bank of the Minnesota River, upstream from its confluence with the Mississippi River. Burnsville and nea ...

, United States, Shannon Gooden shot and killed police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth. Another police officer was injured by gunfire. After firing at the

first responder A first responder is a person with specialized training who is among the first to arrive and provide assistance or incident resolution at the scene of an emergency. First responders typically include Law enforcement, law enforcement officers (co ...

s, Gooden killed himself with a single gunshot wound to the head. The officers were responding to a 911 call that reported an alleged

sexual assault Sexual assault is an act of sexual abuse in which one intentionally Physical intimacy, sexually touches another person without that person's consent, or Coercion, coerces or physically forces a person to engage in a sexual act against their w ...

. Federal authorities alleged that the weapons Gooden used were obtained illegally via

straw purchase A straw purchase or nominee purchase is any purchase wherein an agent agrees to acquire a good or service for someone who is often unable or unwilling to purchase the good or service themselves, and the agent transfers the goods or services to th ...

and filed criminal charges against his girlfriend.

Background

Perpetrator

The perpetrator, identified as 38-year-old Shannon Gooden (December 30, 1985 – February 18, 2024), committed

suicide Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Risk factors for suicide include mental disorders, physical disorders, and substance abuse. Some suicides are impulsive acts driven by stress (such as from financial or ac ...

after firing more than 100 rounds at the responders. Gooden, who had a violent criminal history dating as early as December 2004, lost his firearm ownership rights following his conviction in an August 2007 felony assault for a fight with family members at the Burnsville Center, but he unsuccessfully attempted to restore his firearm rights in 2020. Gooden had previously been accused of

intimate partner violence Intimate partner violence (IPV) is domestic violence by a current or former spouse or partner in an intimate relationship against the other spouse or partner. IPV can take a number of forms, including physical abuse, physical, verbal abuse, verb ...

multiple times in court, and at least three women sought orders of protection from him. One ex-girlfriend said Gooden also got other family members to assault her, and that he had previously fantasized about dying in a shootout with the police, in an attempt to keep her from getting them involved. The woman and Gooden had three children together, who were among the seven children overall present in the house during the shootout. According to authorities, Gooden fired multiple guns during the incident. One of the firearms, an AR-15, was acquired on January 5, 2024, at a local gun store via a

by Ashley Anne Dyrdahl.

Victims

The first responders killed in the shooting were Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27, along with firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, 40. In addition, another police officer, Adam Medlicott, 38, was wounded in the shooting and discharged from the hospital the following day. A child who lived at the home was cut by flying glass after Gooden shot through a window.

Events

In Burnsville, Minnesota, a suburb of

Minneapolis Minneapolis is a city in Hennepin County, Minnesota, United States, and its county seat. With a population of 429,954 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the state's List of cities in Minnesota, most populous city. Locat ...

, a woman called

911 911, 9/11 or Nine Eleven may refer to: Dates * AD 911 * 911 BC * September 11 ** The 2001 September 11 attacks on the United States by al-Qaeda, commonly referred to as 9/11 ** 11 de Septiembre, Chilean coup d'état in 1973 that ousted the ...

at 1:50 a.m. local time on Sunday, February 18, 2024, to report an alleged sexual assault by her husband and to request a police presence at her house. The caller provided her address, but the call cut off shortly after. The 911 dispatcher called back several times in an attempt to gain more information. Officers from the Burnsville Police Department arrived at the house just before 2:00 a.m. Gooden initially said he was unarmed. Officers entered the home and attempted to negotiate with him for several hours, before Gooden opened fire without warning at 5:26 a.m. A paramedic was subsequently struck by gunfire and killed while attempting to offer aid to the officers. Gooden continued firing from inside the house at police, including shooting through a window, until the standoff ended with him killing himself with a single gunshot to the head. Officers found his body and cleared the house at 10:15 a.m. The investigation showed that Gooden fired over 100 rifle rounds during the shooting and found several firearms, including one equipped with a binary trigger and a large amount of ammunition at the scene. At some point during the incident Gooden had been shot in the leg.

Reaction

Statements

The shooting was the subject of national media coverage in the United States.

Angie Craig Angela Dawn Craig (born February 14, 1972) is an American politician, retired journalist, and former businesswoman. A member of the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFL), she has served as the U.S. representative from since 2019. The distri ...

, whose United States House of Representative district includes Burnsville, said, "Today serves as another solemn reminder that those who protect our communities do so at great personal risk. We must do everything in our power to prevent tragedies like these before they happen and hold violent criminals accountable to the fullest extent of the law." Minnesota Governor

Tim Walz Timothy James Walz (; born April 6, 1964) is an American politician who has served since 2019 as the 41st governor of Minnesota. He was the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic nominee for Vice President of the United States, vice pre ...

and United States Senator

Amy Klobuchar Amy Jean Klobuchar ( ; born May 25, 1960) is an American politician and lawyer serving as the Seniority in the United States Senate, senior United States Senate, United States senator from Minnesota, a seat she has held since 2007. A member o ...

expressed condolences to the families of the victims. Walz ordered flags in the state to be flown at half-staff. Violence Free Minnesota, an anti-domestic-violence advocacy group, said it considered the victims of the shooting to be the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th known victims of intimate partner homicide in Minnesota in 2024, and that they represent the way domestic violence "touches and impacts communities and people beyond those just in the relationship".

Minnesota Legislature

Following the shooting, members of the

Minnesota Legislature The Minnesota Legislature is the bicameral legislature of the U.S. state of Minnesota consisting of two houses: the Senate and the House of Representatives. Senators are elected from 67 single-member districts. In order to account for decenn ...

discussed implementing stricter gun storage, safety, and reporting requirements, as well as providing additional services for victims of domestic violence. Later, following the indictments against Dyrdahl, they also began to discuss tightening the penalties for making straw gun purchases, as well as banning binary triggers like the ones on the guns used in the shooting.

Memorials

On February 24, a convoy of several hundred cars, fire engines, tow trucks and semitrucks traveled across Burnsville to commemorate the deceased first responders and to raise donations for their families. The convoy, which was organized primarily via Facebook, began and ended at Burnsville Center, lasting several hours. A memorial processional was also announced for Wednesday, February 28, which resulted in changes to the local bus schedule for that day. Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District also cancelled all classes on the day of the memorial.

Weapons indictment

Ashley Anne Dyrdahl, a former girlfriend of Gooden, was federally indicted on March 14 for allegedly straw purchasing five firearms on Gooden's behalf, two of which were used during the shooting. According to U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger, "The indictment makes it clear that Dyrdahl and Gooden knew exactly what they were doing…That he could not purchase firearms because he was a convicted felon. So instead, he would pick out specific weapons and she would buy them in violation of federal law — placing powerful weapons in the hands of a violent, convicted felon." Dyrdahl had previously petitioned to have Gooden's gun rights restored, which was denied. If convicted, Dyrdahl faces up to fifteen years in prison. Dyrdahl was charged with one count of conspiracy, five counts of straw purchasing, and five counts of making false statements during the purchase of a firearm. The guns she purchased were: * Franklin Armory FAI-15 .300-caliber semi-automatic pistol * Palmetto State Armory PA-15 semi-automatic rifle * Palmetto State Armory Sabre-15 semi-automatic rifle * Glock 47

9mm This is a list of firearm cartridges that have bullets in the to caliber In guns, particularly firearms, but not #As a measurement of length, artillery, where a different definition may apply, caliber (or calibre; sometimes abbreviate ...

semi-automatic pistol * Glock 43X

semi-automatic pistol She pleaded not guilty to the charges at a hearing on March 14, 2024, but changed her plea to guilty on January 14, 2025. A GoFundMe was established for Dyrdahl and her children, which raised over $20,000. Following her incarceration, the fundraiser is only for her children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnsville shooting, 2024 2024 mass shootings in the United States February 2024 crimes in the United States People murdered in Minnesota Burnsville, Minnesota Firefighters killed in the line of duty American police officers killed in the line of duty Mass shootings in Minnesota Murder–suicides in Minnesota Mass shootings involving AR-15–style rifles 2024 in Minnesota Violence against men in the United States