The man who killed two Burnsville police officers and a firefighter last Sunday fired more than 100 rifle rounds at law enforcement and first responders, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said Thursday.

Officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth died of gunshot wounds.

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

Preliminary investigation

The BCA released the following information Thursday about its preliminary investigation:

Officers who responded to the home spoke with Shannon Gooden, 38, who wouldn’t leave the residence but said he was unarmed. He said he had children inside. The BCA previously said there were seven children, ages 2 to 15, in the home.

Officers went inside and negotiated with Gooden for about three and a half hours, trying to get him to surrender peacefully, but he opened fire at 5:26 a.m. on the officers inside the home “without warning,” the BCA said.

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

Ruge and Elmstrand, along with Burnsville police Sgt. Adam Medlicott, were initially shot inside the home. Medlicott fired his department handgun and Burnsville officer Daniel Wical fired his department rifle, and Gooden was struck in the leg.

Gooden shot Ruge and Medlicott a second time as the officers were moving from the home to an armored vehicle in the driveway. Finseth tried to aid the officers and he was shot.

Ruge, Elmstrand and Finseth were pronounced dead in the emergency room at Hennepin Healthcare between 6:30 and 6:45 a.m. Sunday.

Medlicott was treated at the hospital and has been released.

Gooden continued to fire shots out of the home at officers and the armored vehicle, which had personnel inside. When Gooden was shooting from an upstairs window, Burnsville officer Javier Jimenez returned fire with a sniper rifle.

Standoff ends

The standoff ended when Gooden took his own life. The Hennepin County medical examiner’s office has said he shot himself in the head.

Shannon Cortez Gooden in 2007. (Courtesy of the Dakota County Sheriff’s Office)

The SWAT team found his body when they went into the home at 10:15 a.m.

BCA crime scene personnel found several firearms and a large amount of ammunition, along with numerous cartridge casings.

Gooden had a lifetime ban on possessing firearms after he pleaded guilty in 2008 to assault with a dangerous weapon. His past and current girlfriend had previously applied for orders for protection against Gooden, alleging domestic abuse.

The BCA said there is body camera and squad camera video of the incident, and agents are reviewing it as part of the investigation.

The BCA is investigating the incident in its entirety, including what led to the 911 call, the shootings and the officers’ use of force.

Memorial service

A joint, public memorial service is being planned for next week for Ruge and Elmstrand, who were both 27, and Finseth, 40.

It will be 11 a.m. Wednesday at Grace Church, 9301 Eden Prairie Road in Eden Prairie. The city said they’ll have further details about the service early next week.

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