Mankato police say they’ve arrested a suspect in connection with a deadly stabbing at a Kwik Trip gas station Tuesday morning.

According to a news release from the Mankato Department of Public Safety, officers responded to a disturbance just after 3 a.m. at the Kwik Trip at Madison Avenue and Bassett Street. An employee was found stabbed and unresponsive inside.

The victim, 34-year-Dennis Vosika, was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead, police said.

Using surveillance footage, police identified the suspect as 28-year-old Michael Miller. Officers arrested him at his home later Tuesday morning.

Miller is being held on suspicion of second-degree murder. He has not been formally charged.

In a statement, Kwik Trip CEO Scott Zietlow called Vosika’s death a “devastating loss for all of us” and said the company is working “to make sure that everyone feels safe and supported during this challenging time.”

Loved ones of Vosika say he was caring, kind and someone special. 

“His contagious smile and his laugh, [he] cared so much about people and was just happy,” Kelsey Ogren, longtime girlfriend of Voskia, told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS about what made him special. 

“[His] family and I are just still trying to process it all,” she added. “Moving forward, as hard as it is, I know Dennis wouldn’t want me to be sad.”

For 16 years before his death, Ogren said Vosika had been battling kidney failure but still treated life like an adventure, something she says she now plans to do for him. 

She also pointed out his love for the Minnesota Vikings, even holding his Vikings jersey as she shared — as a Green Bay Packers fan herself, it was a ‘house divided,’ she added with a smile. 

“I know he would just want us to make the best of the rest of the lives we have and to really honor and remember his life in a positive light,” Ogren said.