Burnsville shooting: Gunman's ex speaks out after tragedy

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The mother of three children who were inside the Burnsville home at the center of the shooting that claimed the lives of three first responders is speaking out.

As investigators work to learn more about the timeline of the shooting and gunman Shannon Gooden's state of mind, Noemi Torres is coming to grips with the horror unleashed by her ex-partner.

"Just looking at the scene, it was horrific. It was, I only can imagine the fear. My children were there," said Noemi Torres, who shares three children with Gooden.

Every day now, Torres is learning more about the nightmare that unfolded inside her children's home in Burnsville last weekend.  "He said he was going to kill everybody in the house," Torres told FOX 9.

Torres says her teen daughter was barricaded in the same room as Gooden as he opened fire on police, ultimately killing three first responders: Officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand, and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth.

Officers Matthew Ruge (left), Paul Elmstrand (right), and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth (center) (FOX 9)

"He wanted the boys to help him shoot the cops," Torres revealed.

The first inkling of trouble came through a text message from Gooden's current partner, urging Torres to come and get her kids "because something bad happened." That woman, who also had four children inside, had managed to escape into the garage to call 911, reporting that Gooden had sexually assaulted one of the kids.

A search warrant filed Wednesday confirmed that police initially responded to a report of a sexual assault at the home. Torres' children told her that when police first arrived and ordered Gooden to come out: "He lied and said he had no guns."

The Minnesota BCA confirmed on Thursday that Gooden initially claimed not to be armed before opening fire hours later. Authorities now say that Gooden fired off more than 100 rifle rounds during the incident and was wounded by officers before turning a gun on himself.

"Like they weren't prepared. But he asked the cops, ‘What kind of guns you have?’ And the cops told him, ‘We have heavy guns,’" Torres recounted.

"They were there to protect the kids. And I think, you know, those officers that their lives were taken to save my children and the children inside the house, and I feel horrible that they had lost their life," Torres lamented.

The BCA is now piecing together what happened in the days leading up to, during, and after the standoff and shooting. They've taken Torres's cell phone to go through recent text messages between her and Gooden, as well as texts from the house on that Sunday morning, to better understand the sequence of events and Gooden's mindset.

Still so much about what happened we do not know. Like where did Gooden get the guns? As FOX 9 has reported, he was ineligible to own firearms due to a prior assault conviction.

Investigators have access to body and squad camera footage of the confrontation, which might provide more clarity on the negotiation and deadly gunfire. However, this footage has yet to be released publicly.