Burnsville shooting: What we still don’t know

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - Much is still not known about the shooting in Burnsville that left two police officers and a firefighter-paramedic dead on Sunday, Feb. 18. 

Authorities and court filings say police were called to a home at 12605 33rd Ave. in Burnsville at around 1:50 a.m. on Feb. 18 on a report of a sexual assault allegation, at which point Shannon Gooden barricaded himself inside the home. He ended up opening fire on police, killing Burnsville Police Officer Paul Elmstrand, Officer Matthew Ruge and Firefighter-Paramedic Adam Finseth before killing himself. Burnsville Police Sgt. Adam Medlicott was also injured in the shooting. 

The case is still under investigation, so the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) hasn't released more than a few basic details of what happened on Sunday morning. The release of a search warrant and 911 transcript this week shed more light on what happened but there are still many questions. Here's what we still don't know. 

Where did Shannon Gooden get the firearms and large quantities of ammunition?

Gooden had a lifetime ban on owning a gun. Court records indicate Gooden, 38, lost his right to own a gun due to a 2007 felony assault conviction in which he pulled a knife on family members at a mall. He unsuccessfully attempted to restore his firearm rights in 2020. At a Sunday afternoon press conference, the BCA confirmed multiple guns were recovered from the Burnsville crime scene.

What's still unclear is how Gooden got multiple guns and ammunition used in the shooting. 

Was Officer Ruge shot while in crisis negotiations? 

Ruge, who grew up in Wabasha, joined the force in 2020 and was part of the crisis negotiations team. It's unclear if he was fatally shot while in crisis negotiations with Gooden. 

Records released this week reveal officers initially responded to a sexual assault allegation after receiving a 911 call from inside the home. 

A transcript of the 911 call does note the caller asking for police right away, adding "My husband is [redacted] Help me," followed by an expletive and screaming before the call ended. Dispatch attempted to call back a few times, but mostly received the voicemail. 

After officers arrived, "Gooden retreated into a bedroom and barricaded himself. Officers negotiated for Gooden to surrender, but he did not cooperate," according to a search warrant.

Then, the warrant states, "sometime later Gooden opened fire at officers with what is believed to be multiple different firearms, fatally wounding two Burnsville police officers and a firefighter (medic)."

After officers returned gunfire, Special Weapons and Tactics Officers responded and used a drone to locate Gooden, dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, around 8 a.m.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's reports show all three first responders died from gunshot wounds, and were pronounced dead within 13 minutes of each other. 

It's unclear how long police tried to negotiate, whether a child was in the bedroom where Gooden barricaded himself, and whether Ruge was there as part of the negotiations team. It's also unclear if police knew Gooden had guns during their initial response. 

What hasn’t been released? 

The public is expected to learn more about what happened during the incident once additional documents are released. Body and dash camera video and additional search warrants have yet to be released, and all will shed more light on the investigation and paint a clearer timeline of what happened.