Bullets fired by suspect in Dayton, Minn., barely missed officers, charges say

A Dayton, Minn., man fired a gun at officers who were attempting to search his home Tuesday, the bullets coming so close to officers that holes were torn in one officer's clothing, according to charges.

Officers returned gunfire. No injuries were reported in the shooting in the 12200 block of N. Pine­ridge Way in the suburb northwest of Minneapolis.

Faris M.T. Hussien, 26, was charged Thursday in Hennepin County District Court with three counts of first-degree assault.

The Hennepin County Attorney's Office said the officer whose clothing was torn was not wearing a bullet-resistant vest at the time.

The bullets ripped through the officer's overcoat and pants, said Jeremy Zoss, a spokesman for the Sheriff's Office.

"All the bullets missed [the officer's body], although apparently very narrowly," Zoss said.

While the charges did not specify why officers were at Hussien's home, a search warrant affidavit filed in the case revealed that they were investigating a theft case. Hussien allegedly used wrongly acquired in-store credit to purchase an $859 snowblower from Menards, the affidavit said.

According to the complaint: Two officers approached Hussien's front door as a third stood nearby off to the side. One of the officers knocked on the door and identified himself as an officer.

Hussien locked the door's dead bolt from inside. After police kicked in the door, he fired multiple shots at them, the charges said.

"Victim 1 had five bullets in his clothing, four in his jacket and one in his pant leg," the charges said.

A second officer fired at Hussien.

No one was injured.

The credits are issued when a customer returns an item they purchased.

The credits came from four different Menards stores. One of the credits, about $299 from a Maple Grove location, was obtained on Dec. 3 by a different suspect who allegedly took a drill and flashlight off the store shelf and obtained credit for the items.

Hussien used that credit to purchase the snowblower on Dec. 7, and the suspect in the Maple Grove incident picked it up at the Maple Grove location on Dec. 19, according to the affidavit.

Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708