Public funeral service for 3 Burnsville first responders set for next week

Josh Skluzacek KSTP

Vigil held outside Burnsville City Hall for Paul Elmstrand, Matthew Ruge and Adam Finseth on Feb. 20 (KSTP)

A public funeral service for the three first responders who were killed on Sunday in Burnsville has been scheduled for next week.

The service is set to start at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28, at Grace Church in Eden Prairie. More details are expected to be released at a later time.

Burnsville officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth were killed after the suspect of a reported sexual assault retreated into a bedroom and opened fire early Sunday morning. A fourth responder, Sgt. Adam Medlicott, was also hospitalized but is now recovering at home.

The suspect, Shannon Gooden, was later found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound.

In the days since the shooting, droves of Minnesotans have come out to show support for the community and pay their respects to the slain first responders, some right outside Burnsville City Hall and many others during separate processions for Elmstrand and Ruge and Finseth.

A fundraiser for the families of the three first responders is accepting donations online.

Additionally, The Front Line Foundation announced that it is giving a total of $60,000 in death benefits to the Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth families, and The MN 100 Club says it has approved financial contributions of $50,000 to each of the families.