Burnsville police Sgt. Adam Medlicott, shot Sunday by a gunman who killed two officers and a firefighter, has been released from Hennepin County Medical Center and is recovering at home, city officials said Monday.

Medlicott, 38, was transported to HCMC, where he was treated and released Sunday afternoon. He joined the Burnsville Police Department in August 2014 and was promoted to sergeant eight years later.

Burnsville Police Sgt. Adam Medlicott. (Courtesy of the City of Burnsville)

Medlicott was part of the law enforcement team that responded to a domestic incident involving a heavily armed man who barricaded himself inside a home that included a woman and seven children. A few hours after police arrived at the house in the 12600 block of 33rd Avenue South shortly before 2 a.m. Sunday, “the situation escalated” into a gunfight, authorities said.

Killed were Burnsville police officers Paul Elmstrand, 27, and Matthew Ruge, also 27, and Burnsville firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, 40.

On Monday, the Hennepin County medical examiner’s office said all three died of gunshot wounds in the HCMC emergency room shortly after 6:30 a.m. Sunday. Elmstrand, of Chaska, died of multiple gunshot wounds; Ruge, of Northfield, of a gunshot wound to the chest; and Finseth, of Savage, of a gunshot wound to the right arm and torso.

The gunman was identified Monday by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension as 38-year-old Shannon Cortez Gooden, whose cause and manner of death has not yet been released. According to a person with knowledge of the matter, Gooden died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Remembering Elmstrand

Growing up in North Branch on a small berry farm, Paul Elmstrand wasn’t afraid of a hard day’s work, his uncle says. But he also had his sights on becoming a law enforcement officer.

That came to fruition in August 2017, when Elmstrand joined the Burnsville Police Department as a community service officer. He was promoted to an officer in July 2019.

“Raised in a family shaped by faith, community and service, law enforcement was a natural path for Paul,” Elmstrand’s uncle Christopher Hall wrote on Facebook Sunday night. He asked for prayers for Elmstrand’s wife and their two young children, as well as the families of Ruge and Finseth.

Burnsville police Officer Paul Elmstrand. (City of Burnsville via AP)

Elmstrand and his four siblings grew up working for the family’s business, Rod’s Berry Farm, which their parents, Rodney and Sara, began in 1981. As a child, Paul Elmstrand had a “sunny disposition and a willingness to get his hands dirty,” his uncle said on Facebook.

Elmstrand’s wife, Cindy Elmstrand-Castruita, told CBS News on Sunday night that “he would drop everything to help someone who was in need, whether it be family, friend or someone on the street.”

She said they began dating while they both were at Cambridge-Isanti High School. They got married in 2018 and have a 5-month-old and 2-year-old.

As an officer, Elmstrand was part of the department’s mobile command staff, peer team, Honor Guard and field training unit.

“He was a very levelheaded person,” his wife told CBS News. “He loved his job. He saw horrible things but never once did he … come home complaining.”

Remembering Finseth

Adam Finseth’s first full-time firefighting job was with the Hastings Fire Department, where he worked as a firefighter and paramedic. He was also a training instructor.

“He was just a great guy to be around, great to work with,” retired Hastings Fire Chief Mike Schutt, who hired Finseth in 2014, said Monday. “If my family had an emergency, he’s the kind of guy I would want to show up.”

Burnsville firefighter and paramedic Adam Finseth. (City of Burnsville via AP)

While with Hastings, Finseth also worked as a paid on-call firefighter in Savage. In his six years with the Savage Fire Department, he treated “everyone with respect, empathy and compassion,” Fire Chief Jeremie Bresnahan said. “Adam embodied the true spirit of a firefighter.”

Finseth’s legacy is “etched in the memories of those who served alongside him and characterized by his calm demeanor and unwavering support for his fellow team members,” Bresnahan wrote in an email to city staff and council members. “Adam’s impact on our department and community will be remembered, and his selfless service inspires us all.”

After graduating from John Marshall High School in Rochester, Minn., in 2001, Finseth joined the U.S. Army. For just over two years, he was deployed with Bravo Company, 1st battalion 327th Infantry in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was responsible for leading and training a seven- to nine-man rifle squad for pre-deployment and overseas operations, Finseth wrote on his LinkedIn page.

Finseth was part of the public safety team’s SWAT unit when he was shot. On Monday, a procession of emergency vehicles escorted Finseth’s body from the medical examiner’s office in Minnetonka to a funeral home in Jordan.

Remembering Ruge

Matthew Ruge grew up in the close-knit town of Read’s Landing off U.S. 61 along the Mississippi River north of Wabasha.

He grew up in a house on a small cul-du-sac with only five families. Robin Gwaltney lived on the street in one house that had a pool. Her parents lived in another house next door to the home where Ruge, his mother and his older sister lived. Gwaltney said the Ruge family moved to the neighborhood when Matthew was about 6 years old and, right from the beginning, he was special.

Burnsville police Officer Matthew Ruge. (City of Burnsville via AP)

She said that unlike some children who might be a little challenging when they are young but grow up to be wonderful people, Matthew was kind and respectful from a young age, skipping right over any “bratty” stage that kids often go through.

He attended Wabasha-Kellogg High School before going to study law enforcement at Mankato State University.

“It was a pleasure to know him,” she said on Monday. “I’m so proud of what he turned out to be — such a wonderful young man. It’s just a darn shame.”

She said her parents were like another set of grandparents to Ruge and his sister, taking them down to her house to swim in her pool on the days when his mother was working.

“It was a really nice and special relationship they had,” she said. “He would help my dad with everything. If my dad was cleaning out his shed, Matt would come down and say, ‘Can I help you?” He would mow their lawn. He was so sweet and so kind.”

She wasn’t surprised he went into law enforcement.

“He was a young man who wanted to do nice things for people,” she said. “He was super respectful and nice and kind. When he chose to serve his community it didn’t surprise me at all. And I think he was probably amazing at his job. It’s just so sad.”

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