911 transcript, dispatch log reveal more about shooting that killed Burnsville first responders
Two weeks after a report of a sexual assault in Burnsville turned into a shooting that killed three first responders and injured another, newly released documents are shedding more light on the incident.
A 911 transcript states that one of the seven children inside the home on the morning of Feb. 18 called dispatchers at 6:54 a.m. and reported that their father, Shannon Gooden, shot himself and wasn’t breathing.
The transcript details the dispatcher’s conversation with the child, who gathered the siblings and brought them outside to police officers.
It details that the child said Gooden was hit in the leg by police gunfire, then took his own life when officers left. The child’s mother had been at the home earlier but left at some point after calling for help at around 1:50 a.m.
According to additional transcripts, the woman called and said, “Help me,” before the call disconnected, and screaming was also heard by dispatchers. However, callback attempts were unsuccessful.
Officers responded and made contact with her outside five minutes later, according to dispatch logs, and she informed them that Gooden had access to guns — including several Glocks, a 12-gauge, an AR-15–style rifle and others — inside the home and that the seven kids were also inside. Those logs also note that officers tried to talk to Gooden, and a group of five officers, including Sgt. Adam Medlicott, went inside the home to try to get to Gooden within 10 minutes of officers responding before later reporting that Gooden was “contained” in the home, but “unwilling to come downstairs.”
By 3 a.m., the mother was still with an officer, and the logs state that Gooden was adamantly trying to talk to her, but police weren’t going to allow that, noting he took her phone when she called 911 earlier.
Negotiations continued, with Gooden refusing to come out and additional officers arriving at the scene. By around 5 a.m., an armored police vehicle was nearby for officers to deploy.
At 5:26 a.m., the logs note that the armored vehicle started “moving up.” Twenty seconds later, an “office down” call came through, with the log updating that two officers had been hit seconds later. Officers were then ordered to fall back to the armored vehicle and numerous ambulance rigs were requested. By 5:30 a.m., the logs noted that three officers had been shot, one was in serious condition and rifle shots were still being heard in the house.
Burnsville officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth were killed by the gunfire and Medlicott was also briefly hospitalized before being released to recover at home.
“Male is in hallway waiting for ambush,” the log stated as gunshots continued to be fired in the home. State investigators say Gooden fired more than 100 rounds during the encounter.
After the kids were brought to safety, the child who called 911 told officers where Gooden was. They then deployed a drone to confirm that Gooden was dead.
Thousands turned out for a public memorial last week to honor Ruge, Elmstrand and Finseth.
Investigators are still working to determine how Gooden, who wasn’t supposed to have guns due to previous convictions, got the stockpile that he was found with.