CHARGES: Man With Shotgun, Machete Stormed Sherburne Gov. Center

Jul 23

A 51-year-old man is facing six felonies after he allegedly fired several gunshots, stormed the Sherburne County Government Center armed with a machete and assaulted a mother and child in the parking lot Saturday.

Zha Kong Vang, of Elk River, is accused of forcing his way inside the building with a shotgun, damaging county property, confronting a mother and daughter in their vehicle and jabbing a knife toward the face of another person parked outside. No injuries were reported.

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According to the criminal complaint, dispatchers began receiving 911 calls around 9 a.m. on July 19 reporting that an armed man had broken through Door A of the Sherburne County Government Center in Elk River. A jail employee saw the man inside the building with a firearm and a woman in the parking lot told dispatch that the man, later identified as Vang, struck her vehicle multiple times while her daughter sat inside. Surveillance footage confirmed the man used the barrel and butt of a gun to hit the passenger window. She told law enforcement she believed she and her daughter were about to die.

PREVIOUSLY: No Injuries After Shots Fired at Sherburne Government Facility

Sheriff’s Commander Zawacki and Captain Broich responded and found Vang outside the building still carrying the shotgun. After repeated commands, he put the gun down and was arrested. Officers also recovered a large sheathed knife resembling a machete from his possession.

Security video inside the building showed Vang first shot through an exterior window to gain access, then fired again through an interior window. Damage was reported to a window and desk area near the court wing. Vang attempted to enter a secured area but couldn’t get through, then moved through the building, checking locked doors and eventually exiting through Door D, which leads to law enforcement and jail offices. Once outside, he fired toward a maintenance building. Officers later confirmed bullets hit the walls of that building.

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After slashing the front tire of a county van, Vang approached another person in a car. Footage showed him carrying the shotgun and machete, then jabbing the knife into the open driver’s window at the person’s face and neck. The driver sped off. He later told officers he was scared and panicked after Vang lunged the blade toward him.

Due to Vang’s conduct and how he parked near the building, bomb technicians and an explosives K9 were brought in to search his vehicle. Investigators later executed a search warrant at his home in Elk River with assistance from the Elk River Police Department.

Vang is charged with first-degree burglary with a dangerous weapon, three counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, possessing a weapon in a courthouse and first-degree criminal damage to property. The repair costs for the county property are estimated to exceed $1,000.

Vang made an initial court appearance on Tuesday and his next hearing is scheduled for late August.

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