Ax-wielding woman detained in St. Cloud on suspicion of assault

An ax-wielding St. Cloud woman was arrested Saturday morning on two counts of felony assault, according to police.

At 11:26 a.m., St. Cloud police responded to a report of a woman with an ax trying to attack people in the neighborhood near the intersection of Fourth Street and Eight Avenue South.

According to statements, the woman attempted to assault a 44-year-old man across the street. The man was up on a ladder working on his house and managed to dodge her swing. The ax instead hit the ladder. Police said she then lifted the axe and ran screaming toward a 52-year-old bicyclist.

Upon arriving at the scene, police saw the suspect holding the ax. She then fled on foot to her home and barricaded herself in. The St. Cloud SWAT team and crisis negotiators were called for aid due to the violent nature of the woman. At 1:38 p.m., authorities executed a search warrant and took the woman into custody.

The assailant — later identified as 53-year-old Shelley Lynn Goff — was arrested and booked into Stearns County Jail. She is being held on suspicion of two counts of second-degree assault. She has not been formally charged.

Neither victim was injured during the attack.