Officers responded to a Burnsville home about a sexual assault allegation and a 38-year-old man barricaded himself in the home before opening fire at officers with what authorities believed were multiple different firearms, according to new information about the killings of two officers and a firefighter in a court document filed Wednesday.

Seven children were in the home at the time and were physically uninjured.

Shannon Cortez Gooden, 38, who authorities said was the gunman, lived in the rental home with his girlfriend. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, which is investigating, spoke Tuesday to Gooden’s former girlfriend, Noemi Torres. Torres had three children with Gooden and they were among the children in the home at the time of the shootings.

Photos of Burnsville police officers, from left, Paul Elmstrand, Matthew Ruge and Firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth. (Mara H. Gottfried / Pioneer Press)

Torres told the BCA she was last in contact with Gooden via text messages between Feb. 12 and Feb. 14. Their communication “could contain information to help investigators understand the mindset of Gooden,” a BCA agent wrote in an application for a search warrant for information on Torres’ phone.

Killed in the shooting were Burnsville firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth, 40, and Burnsville officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand, both 27.

A public funeral for the three men will be hosted next Wednesday at 11 a.m. at Grace Church’s Eden Prairie location. The church said additional information will be shared as it becomes available.

New info in search warrant

Burnsville officers were dispatched to the 12600 block of 33rd Avenue South in Burnsville about 1:50 a.m. Sunday “regarding an alleged sexual assault allegation,” the BCA agent wrote in the application for a search warrant.

“Officers arrived and contacted the reporting party and a male” identified as Gooden, the agent wrote. “At one point during the incident, Gooden retreated into a bedroom and barricaded himself. Officers negotiated for Gooden for surrender, but he did not cooperate.”

The agent continued: “Sometime later, Gooden opened fire at officers with what is believed to be multiple different firearms. … Officers returned gunfire at Gooden and he retreated into a bedroom.”

Elmstrand, Finseth and Ruge were shot and each died between 6:30 and 6:45 a.m. Sunday in the Hennepin Healthcare emergency room.

SWAT officers responded. With the use of a drone, officers determined Gooden was deceased in the bedroom with what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. The Hennepin County medical examiner’s office confirmed Tuesday that was how Gooden died.

Law enforcement has said the seven children who were in the home when Gooden was barricaded are between the ages of 2 and 15.

The search warrant, which a judge granted, was for information from Torres’ cell phone from Feb. 11 to Sunday night “with a specific focus on the content related to the officer use of deadly force investigation,” the agent wrote in the application.

Donations for the families of the fallen officers and firefighter are being accepted at lels.org/benevolent-fund.

Nick Ferraro contributed to this report.

Related Articles

Federal judge reduces $10 million record civil award in Cordale Handy case to $2.5 million

Metro Transit bus driver fatally strikes pedestrian in St. Paul’s Highland Park

Children were in room with man who killed Burnsville officers and firefighter, and shot himself, mother says

‘Heroic actions’ of law enforcement meant safety for family in Burnsville home, says relative of gunman’s girlfriend

Man who killed 2 Burnsville officers, firefighter died from self-inflicted gunshot wound, medical examiner confirms