Pine County shooting: Son kills father ‘execution style’ at family cabin

HINCKLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - A Cambridge man is facing several charges after police say he shot and killed his father during a dispute at a family hunting cabin in Pine County.

What we know

Kirk Edward Hazlett III, 31, of Cambridge is charged with second-degree murder and felony kidnapping for crimes that police say occurred on Nov. 15, in Hinckley.

According to charges, police were called to the report of a shooting around 8:44 p.m., with the callers saying that Hazlett III had just shot his father, Kirk Edward Hazlett II.

Upon their arrival, deputies from the Pine County Sheriff’s Office were directed to a hunting cabin located on the 57000 block of Barns Spring Road where the shooting allegedly occurred.

Police learned the two-bedroom, 1.25-story cabin was owned by the elder Hazlett, who they found lying face down on the floor near a couch. There were several spent casings of ammunition on the ground next to him, charges said.

A postmortem examination of Hazlett II found nine gunshot wounds – one of which entered his head above the left ear and exited at the right forehead. All the entrance wounds were from his back.

Alleged attack

Police say the witnesses who called police were having dinner with Hazlett II when one of them received a notification on his cell phone from a trail camera at the property entrance that showed a person walking up the driveway with a gun.

One of them went to get their own handgun, but before they could, the side door of the cabin opened, and he heard three gunshots, according to charges. He reportedly then saw Hazlett III standing inside the cabin with a handgun.

Charges say that Hazlett III made them sit on the couch, and they feared he was going to kill them as well, after he went over a shot Hazlett II in the back of the head "to make sure he was dead" in an "execution style" manner.

One of the witnesses reported that Hazlett III appeared like he had "entered with a mission... He entered to kill him."

After some pleading, charges state Hazlett III allowed them to leave after taking their cell phones. They then ran to a neighboring property for help.

Around 9:18 p.m., Hazlett III was taken into custody at his home in Cambridge. He is being held at the Pine County Jail. 

Past disputes

During their investigation, both witnesses told police that Hazlett III and the victim, "weren’t getting along and hadn’t for a long time," and that he was, "not in good relations with their family," charges state.

They said he appeared "very coherent" during the incident and that he "didn’t appear under the influence" of any substances.

On Oct. 17, 2024, law enforcement was called to the same cabin for a disturbance between the two men, with Hazlett II calling authorities on his son at the time, saying he had been drinking and threatening him.

At that point, Hazlett III was trespassed from the property.