Suspect, officer involved in active shooter incident identified

Emily Baude KSTP

(KSTP-TV)

Officials have released the name of the man who was shot by law enforcement during an active shooter incident on Saturday.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) identified the man as 40-year-old Nathan Mellstrom Matz. He is currently in stable condition and is expected to survive.

The BCA also identified the officer who shot Matz with a rifle as Minneapolis Police Sergeant Ben Bauer. He has 12 years of experience in law enforcement and is currently on “critical incident leave.”

The incident began late Friday night when the Minneapolis Police Department received a 911 call around 10:30 p.m. about an individual walking around with a shotgun around Minnehaha Avenue.

While police searched the area, officers were unable to find this person. However, police were later contacted dozens of times Saturday morning around 4:30 a.m., now with reports of shots being fired on the 4000 block of Minnehaha Avenue.

Police Chief Brian O’Hara said the shooter had entered an apartment on the street, seemingly damaging the door by shooting it. When officers began to search the building, they found a shotgun sitting in “plain view” of an open door and heard additional gunfire in the apartment.

Residents were evacuated from the building by law enforcement as more officers continued to search for the suspected shooter, who was found in the stairwell armed with what appeared to be an AK-47 and a .45 handgun.

The suspect was also equipped with what Chief O’Hara called a military-style flak jacket and a backpack that was later found to contain ammunition.

Chief O’Hara said one officer was able to shoot the suspect, striking his jaw, which allowed other officers to disarm him. The suspect was in critical but stable condition and was taken to a hospital for treatment.

While two residences were damaged from the gunfire, Minneapolis police said no one was injured besides the suspected shooter.