Multiple Gun Battles Preceded Fatal Shooting in Duluth Stand Off
Duluth, MN (KROC-AM News) - The man killed following a lengthy standoff with police in Duluth last week engaged officers in multiple gun battles in the hours leading to his death.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension today released additional details about the deadly incident that began with a report of a possible domestic assault last Thursday night. The responding officers learned the suspect was wanted on warrants and entered the apartment to arrest him. The BCA says the officers found him hiding in a closet and the man, identified as 37-year-old David Conwell, responded by firing a shotgun at them and fatally wounding K9 Officer Luna. The officers returned fire as they retreated from the home, but the BCA says there is no indication Conwell had been shot.
That was the beginning of what turned out to be a nearly 20 hour-long standoff. The BCA says, after numerous attempts to communicate with Conwell and dislodge him using chemical irritants, the Duluth Tactical Response Team entered the apartment around 3 AM on Friday and Conwell again engaged the officers in a gun battle.
The standoff continued until around 4 PM on Friday when members of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office Emergency Response Team entered the residence and determined that Conwell was hiding in a second-floor closet. The tactical team then decided to remove a section of the exterior wall on the building to gain access to the closet. The BCA says Conwell jumped through the hole in the wall onto the porch and pointed his gun at the deputies. Two of them opened fire with their rifles, fatally wounding the 37-year-old man. No one else was injured.
The BCA preliminary investigation has identified four members of the Duluth Police Department and two members of the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office who fired their weapons during the initial response and standoff. Two other deputies were also listed in the report for firing non-lethal weapons, along with the Duluth officer who deployed the police dog that was killed by Conwell.
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