Jury finds Princeton man guilty of shooting five officers during search

A jury has found a 66-year-old Princeton, Minn., man guilty of shooting five officers who came to his home to serve a warrant two years ago.

Karl Thomas Holmberg was charged with more than a dozen felonies, including seven counts of first-degree attempted murder of a peace officer, after the shootout at his home.

After a nine-day trial in Benton County District Court, the jury on Thursday found Holmberg guilty of the attempted murder counts, as well as eight additional counts related to assault and the illegal possession of drugs.

“We are grateful for the verdict, and we hope this sends a message that the reckless violence he chose that day cannot be tolerated,” Sherburne County Sheriff Joel Brott said in a news release.

Officers from Sherburne and Benton counties served a narcotics warrant just after 7 a.m. Oct. 12, 2023, at Holmberg’s home in the 200 block of 190th Avenue in Princeton, according to the criminal complaint .

Law enforcement yelled “Police, search warrant!” multiple times while knocking on the door; within seconds of entering the house, Holmberg reportedly fired off several rounds and officers retreated, the complaint states.

Holmberg’s wife, Dorine, told police her husband began shooting “blindly through the closed bedroom door” with a military-style rifle and said it was “his day to die,” the complaint states. Karl Holmberg was arrested after several hours of negotiations.

The narcotics search warrant was issued following a monthslong investigation where investigators allegedly bought methamphetamine from one of the Holmbergs at the house on multiple occasions.

Of the seven officers in the house, five were shot, including one who was hit in the right arm and required five surgeries within two months of the shooting. Another was shot in the chest and hip, causing a fractured pelvis and bruising to his lung, the complaint states.

“We are extremely fortunate that the injuries sustained by these brave officers were not more serious,” Brott said in the release.