A rest-stop homicide at a Twin Cities suburb early Wednesday quickly led to a police chase that ended with authorities fatally shooting an armed suspect after the individual crashed on Interstate 694, according to the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office.
It began with police dispatched to the scene of an apparent shooting at the Elm Creek rest stop on Interstate 94 in Maple Grove about 1 a.m. Wednesday. There they found one man dead, according to the sheriff’s department.
Within minutes, officers spotted a vehicle matching the suspect’s description near the I-694, I-494 and I-94 split. Police from several area agencies – with the help of a Minnesota State Patrol helicopter – pursued the vehicle until it crashed into the wire median on I-694 near Rice Street.
According to the sheriff’s office, the suspect got out of the car with a weapon and was fatally shot by police.
A Brooklyn Center police officer and a Hennepin County sheriff’s deputy fired their weapons.
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Both directions of I-694 were closed between I-35W in Arden Hills and I-35E in Little Canada until shortly after 9 a.m. Minnesota Department of Transportation officials said the closures were necessary for authorities to investigate.
The closing put enormous traffic pressure on other east-west commuter arteries including Minnesota 36 and Minnesota 96 – most commute times in the north metro were doubled and tripled because of the closure.
Traffic was diverted from the roughly six-mile stretch and only emergency vehicles were being allowed through during the closure, according to MnDOT.
Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agents are interviewing witnesses in the I-694 shooting, according to BCA spokeswoman Jill Oliveira.
The rest-stop homicide is under investigation by the Maple Grove Police Department.
The Pioneer Press is a media partner with Forum News Service.
