A liquor-fueled brawl at a home in northern Minnesota left a man beaten to death, two others badly hurt and two people jailed on suspicion of murder, authorities said Friday.
The violence occurred Thursday evening at a home in Ten Lake Township, about 13 miles east of Bemidji, and involved "a large group of extremely intoxicated individuals who were bleeding and in various states of distress," according to a statement from the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office.
Emergency personnel attempted to revive Leslie Headbird, 44, but he died at Cass Lake Hospital from a severe beating, the sheriff's office said. Two others, a male and a female, were hospitalized with what the sheriff's office called "possible life-threatening injuries."
Authorities have yet to reveal what prompted the fighting at the home on the Leech Lake Indian Reservation.
Later Thursday, an 18-year-old man from Cass Lake, Minn., was taken to Sanford Bemidji Medical Center for minor injuries and then arrested in connection with the homicide. He was caught after he attempted to break into a home and tried to hijack a car that he stopped on the street, according to authorities. The other suspect under arrest is a 29-year-old woman from Cass Lake.
The two were being held Friday in the county jail, accused of second-degree murder and assault. They have yet to be charged.
"Rumors of a possible retaliation" prompted a lengthy lockdown at the medical center, where the 18-year-old suspect and two victims from the brawl were being treated, said Sanford spokeswoman Kari Knudson.
The lockdown stretched from 8 p.m. Thursday until 6 a.m. Friday, prompting enhanced security measures that included all exterior doors being locked and guarded by law enforcement, Knudson said. The rumors proved unfounded, she said.
