Two people were found shot to death early Wednesday inside Ravine Park in Cottage Grove, authorities said.
The Cottage Grove Police Department and the Washington County Sheriff’s Office responded at about 6:11 a.m. Nov. 4 to a report of shots fired in the park. Officers met a witness who reported a shooting and found two people with gunshot wounds. Both were pronounced dead at the scene.
Preliminary information indicates the two people knew each other and the shooting was not random, authorities said. They said there is no active threat to the community.
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Responding agencies secured the scene and interviewed the witness. Authorities set up a perimeter around the park and said the incident was contained to Ravine Park, which remains closed until further notice.
The Washington County Service Center stayed closed for the day. Cottage Grove City Hall and the HERO Center reopened after the shooting. The sheriff’s office will release more information on when the service center will reopen.
Also responding were the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Saint Paul Park Police Department, the Minnesota State Patrol, the Oakdale Police Department, the Woodbury Police Department and Cottage Grove Fire.
The Ramsey County Medical Examiner’s Office will identify the two people and notify their next of kin. The statement closed with condolences to the family, the community and “all those affected by domestic violence.”
The sheriff’s office said it will release updates as they become available. No other information was released as of publication.
