On June 2, 2026, officers were dispatched to a report of shots fired in the area of I35W southbound and Highway 62, in Hennepin County, in the state of Minnesota. Officers met with the reporting party, identified as SK, hereinafter Victim 1, who reported that he was driving southbound on I35W with his wife, identified as LS, hereinafter Victim 2, in the passenger seat. As Victim 1 was driving, he merged left to give space to a squad that had a vehicle stopped on the right. A vehicle got behind him and began to tailgate Victim 1. Victim 1 stated that he braked and started honking his horn at the vehicle.
Victim 1 stated that he then merged back to the right toward westbound Highway 62. Victim 1 reported that the driver of the other vehicle, later identified as RICHARD KELLY SCHICKEL, [DOB REDACTED], hereinafter Defendant, pulled up alongside him on the right side. Defendant then pointed an AR style rifle at his vehicle and fired once, but the round did not hit anyone. Victim 1 stated that he saw a cartridge eject from the rifle. Victim 1 followed Defendant’s vehicle, and he was able to get the license plate and identified the vehicle as a Mazda CX9. Officers located a discarded cartridge casing on the highway.
Officers ran the address for the vehicle, which was in Chanhassen. Carver County deputies located the vehicle in a parking lot, where they could see a rifle box in plain view in the vehicle. Deputies then had the vehicle towed for Minneapolis PD. Officers later obtained a search warrant to search the vehicle and located an AR rifle, loaded magazines, and ammunition. Officers were able to identify Defendant as a suspect based on the vehicle, and his DVS photo matched a description provided by Victim 1. An investigator called Defendant over the phone on June 3, 2026, and Defendant admitted to driving in the area of the offense around the date/time of the offense.
Defendant stated that Victims’ vehicle cut him off and swerved toward him, so he armed himself with the rifle and had it on his lap, but he denied pointing it or firing it. Defendant stated he had the rifle out because the other vehicle was following him. On June 8, 2026, Defendant came to the Minneapolis Police Department Public Safety Building on 505 4th Ave. S., where an investigator got a second statement from Defendant, and Defendant was placed under arrest. Defendant is in custody.
