Two young men were killed and a third was critically wounded in a shooting at a Willmar park on Monday night, police say.
Willmar police were called around 8 p.m. on September 21 to the area of Rau Park in the 1000 block of 7th Street Northwest for a report of gunshots, according to the Willmar Police Department. Dispatchers said there were potentially two or three people injured.
Officers and emergency medical crews arrived and gave lifesaving aid to two men, a 19-year-old and a 20-year-old, both from Willmar, according to police. Both were taken to CentraCare hospital by ambulance. One was pronounced dead at the hospital and the other was flown to St. Cloud Hospital, where he is in critical condition as of publication.
A third man, a 19-year-old from Willmar, was taken to the Willmar hospital in a personal vehicle and was pronounced dead there a short time later, police said.
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Officers secured the scene and began taking witness statements, and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension’s crime lab was called to help process the scene.
Police said they believe the shooting was an isolated incident and not random, and that they do not believe there is a current threat to the public. Names have been withheld to allow time for family notifications.
The investigation is active and the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office and Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension assisted the Willmar Police Department.
