A 50-year-old man was shot dead during an exchange of gunfire with deputies in Crow Wing County south of Brainerd on Wednesday evening, and a deputy was recovering after being shot in the arm, according to media reports.
The wounded deputy was recovering in a Brainerd hospital and expected to be released soon, according to the Brainerd Dispatch.
The identities of the deputy and of the dead man were not being disclosed by the sheriff's office late Wednesday, a dispatcher said. Crow Wing County sheriff's officials did not return Star Tribune calls Wednesday night.
A man had called 911 to have deputies sent to his home before running into the woods in St. Mathias Township and climbing up to a tree stand, media outlets reported.
The Brainerd Dispatch reported that deputies were called to a property owner's home about 1 p.m. Wednesday, with the caller telling the 911 dispatcher to "get the cops out here quickly" to his home in the 8000 block of Sleepy Hollow Road.
Crow Wing County Sheriff Todd Dahl told the Brainerd Dispatch that the man had a handgun and ran. Deputies heard gun shots and pursued the man, tracking him to a nearby tree stand.
The newspaper reported that the man was distraught and said he would surrender before putting down his gun and beginning to climb down the tree stand. But then he began climbing up the tree again. When a K-9 dog went after the suspect, the man turned and started shooting at deputies, the Dispatch said.
Joy Powell • 612-673-7750
