Shots near New Hope high school lead to 3 arrests

By TIM HARLOW, Star Tribune

Last update: October 22, 2008 - 1:20 AM

A tense situation in a New Hope neighborhood ended peacefully Tuesday morning when officers arrested three people in connection with an incident in which guns were fired near a high school.

It took police officers from several agencies and the West Metro SWAT Team several hours before they arrested two men and a woman as they came out from inside a house on the 8100 block of 49th Avenue N., said Capt. Dave Rudolph.

Police cordoned off several streets when at least three shots were fired at about 3:55 a.m. Tuesday. A second round of shots came at 4:21 a.m., and a third round at 5:35 a.m. Officers determined the shots came from the back of a residence directly across the street from Robbinsdale Cooper High School.

It was unclear what led to the gunfire, and no one was hurt, police said.

Police notified school officials of the incident around 7 a.m., and administrators put the high school on lockdown mode. Many students were just arriving when the school was placed on lockdown as a precaution. Several of the 30 buses carrying students to the school were diverted to a nearby church, and students and staff already inside the school were told to stay away from windows, said Jeff Dehler, communications director for Robbinsdale schools.

About 2,000 students attend Cooper High School and 1,100 arrive by bus, Dehler said.

The incident was contained and buses brought the students to school around 7:40 a.m., about 20 minutes after its normal start time. The school remained in modified lockdown for the remainder of the day, meaning nobody could leave the building during the school day.

Police arrested the suspects, a 24-year-old woman, and two men, an 18-year-old and a 19-year-old, shortly after 9 a.m. None of the suspects was a student at the school.

Tim Harlow • 612-673-7768