On January 25, 2026 at 9:36 P.M., officers with the Rochester Police Department received an emergency call from a parking lot off Marion Road in the City of Rochester County of Olmsted. On arrival, officers found a man (Victim #1) lying in the snow with a gunshot wound to the head. Officers spoke with two witnesses on scene. The first witness said he was taking out some trash when he heard loud arguing followed by the sound of a gunshot. He looked in the direction of the shot and saw a lone individual wearing a hoodie.
He said the individual left in a blue larger-model pickup truck. The second witness said she heard arguing, and one of the individuals said something to the effect of, “Please don’t shoot.” She then heard a gunshot. She only heard the incident and did not see it. Officers spoke with the owners of the property. They said that they run a business from the first floor of the building but that they rent out the basement on Airbnb. On the night of January 25th, the basement had been rented to a “Mike Milbrandt.” As officers were responding to that call, another call came from a residence about two-and-a-half miles to the south.
The caller told police that an armed intruder had entered her house with a pistol. On arrival, officers heard a man screaming for help in the basement. When they went downstairs, they found the homeowner (Victim #2) wrestling with the intruder, identified as Michael Joseph Milbrandt, born on [DOB REDACTED]. Officers seized Milbrandt. In the basement, officers found a small puddle of blood and a tan Glock handgun. In a wall-mounted TV, they observed an apparent bullet hole. On the first floor, they found a shattered sliding glass door.
On the deck near that door, they found a 9mm shell casing. Parked next to the deck, they found Milbrandt's vehicle, a larger-model pickup truck. Once the scene was secured, Victim #2 told officers that he had been in the basement with his wife when he heard a loud crash upstairs. He went to the staircase to see what the crash was, and he saw Milbrandt coming at him, wielding a pistol with a flashlight attachment. Milbrandt aimed at Victim #2 and fired, but missed. Victim #2 grappled Milbrandt and tried to disarm him.
In the course of the melee, Milbrandt put the gun near Victim #2's head and fired again, but again he missed. Victim #2 called out to his wife to get their child [NAME REDACTED]. Victim #2 also explained that Milbrandt is his friend and neighbor but that Milbrandt has been spiraling in drug use. He said that earlier that day, Victim #2 had spoken with Milbrandt's father about trying to convince Milbrandt to get help. Victim #2's wife gave a similar account. She described grabbing her child [NAME REDACTED] into the cold while her husband fought Milbrandt. 3 55-CR-26-664 Filed in District Court State of Minnesota 1/27/2026 Meanwhile, other officers discovered that Victim #1 was Milbrandt's father.
