Charges: Burnsville shooting suspect thought victim was 'talking' to his girlfriend

BURNSVILLE, Minn. (FOX 9) - The man wanted in a shooting last week in Burnsville apparently shot his former friend in an apparent paranoid rage because he believed his former friend was carrying on an affair with his now ex-girlfriend.

Forty-one-year-old Ronald Nielsen II was charged by warrant with attempted murder for the shooting last Wednesday.

According to a criminal complaint filed on Friday, Nielsen entered the victim's home on Wednesday and shot him twice, once in the stomach and once in the buttocks, before fleeing the home. Officers responded after the victim called 911 to report he had been shot.

At the scene, officers found the victim covered in blood. The victim was in pain, pale in color, and sweating profusely, police said. He was rushed to the hospital for treatment.

Before being transported, the victim told police he was shot by Nielsen – who goes by the name "Barney".

Speaking with police, the victim's girlfriend said she was at work on Wednesday when she began getting numerous texts and calls from Nielsen – who is the victim's former "best friend" – stating that Nielsen suspected that his girlfriend was carrying on an affair with the victim.

Police also spoke with Nielsen's girlfriend, who told officers she had broken up with Nielsen several days before the shooting – telling police she "believed her life was in danger," the charges detail. Nielsen's ex-girlfriend told police Nielsen accused her of "sleeping with people." According to the charges, Nielsen's ex told police that Nielsen "has been acting different the last several months, and that she’s never seen him like this."

Speaking with the victim at the hospital on Thursday, police said the victim told them Nielsen had asked if the victim was "talking to his girlfriend." When the victim told him "no", Nielsen reportedly told him that he would "blow your brains out" before opening fire with a handgun. The victim says he was still in bed when he was shot by Nielsen, the complaint details.

According to the charges, the victim also said that Nielsen had been sending him "nonsense text messages" and that he had dated Nielsen's now ex-girlfriend about 13 years ago. The complaint states the victim had to undergo surgery after being shot and had part of his small intestine removed. Thankfully, the shots fired missed other vital organs, police say.

As of Friday, police said Nielsen was still on the run and, as of Sunday, Nielsen is still not listed on the Dakota County jail roster.