The man who was shot and killed by an Austin police officer in the parking lot of a gas station Thursday, Dec. 23 has been identified as Kokou Christopher Fiafonou, 38, of Austin, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said in a media release. The BCA said a knife was recovered near Fiafonou’s body after he was shot by an officer outside the Kwik Trip at 1201 W. Oakland Ave. shortly before 10 p.m.

Saint Paul police detectives are investigating after a man was shot just before 10 p.m. on Monday on the 900 block of Rice St. The man was transported to Regions Hospital and died several hours later.

According to dispatch audio, the man had been shot in the chest and was in critical condition.

A man who attacked a Menards employee and a police officer was sentenced on Wednesday in McLeod County Court. Luke Alvin Oeltjenbruns, 61, of Hutchinson, was originally charged with 1st-degree assault for use of deadly force against a police officer, two counts of 2nd-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and one count of fleeing a police officer in a motor vehicle that resulted in substantial bodily harm, all felonies. As part of a plea deal, one count of 2nd-degree assault and fleeing a police officer were dismissed.

After a trial lasting eight days and deliberating for more than a combined 27 hours, a jury has found former Brooklyn Center police officer Kimberly Potter guilty on first and second-degree manslaughter charges for the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright on April 11.

Sentencing will be set at a later date, but state guidelines call for a sentence of around seven years. State prosecutors have previously said they intend to seek an aggravated sentence.

A Burnsville man held in jail since a fatal shooting outside an Eagan gas station Saturday night has now been formally charged with 2nd-degree murder. Sakaria Osman Ahmed, 31, is accused of fatally shooting Faisal A. Abukar, 33, just before 7 p.m. on Dec. 18.

According to a criminal complaint filed Tuesday, Ahmed was among a group outside the Marathon gas station at 1969 Silver Bell Rd. when a dispute erupted and one man involved was punched in the face, then thrown to the ground by an unidentified suspect.

Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson was sentenced today as part of a plea agreement after driving under the influence and crashing his county-issued vehicle on December 8th near Alexandria, Minnesota.

Hutchinson was given a 90-day jail sentence which was stayed for two years, along with two years of probation. Hutchinson was also ordered to complete a chemical assessment, have no alcohol violations, or driver’s license violations, as well as abstain from any alcohol or controlled substance use with the exception of prescribed medications. Hutchinson will be subjected to random drug and alcohol testing as part of the sentence.

Saturday night just after 11 p.m., St Peter fire crews were called to a fire in a two-story historic building. Callers reported smoke and flames showing from the windows and the roof of the building. The two-story building had a business in the lower level and apartments above.

All residents of the building were safely evacuated and no injuries were reported.

A Burnsville man has been arrested and is being held on probable cause 2nd-degree assault with a dangerous weapon after another man was shot in the head early Friday evening in Eagan.

Police were dispatched to the Marathon station at 1969 Silver Bell Rd. just before 6 p.m. There, they found a male victim with a gunshot wound. Initial radio dispatches said the victim was shot in the head, struck near the ear and was initially unconscious, but still breathing.

Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson pleaded guilty to one misdemeanor DUI charge on Thursday morning, stemming from a rollover crash on December 8th near Alexandria, Minnesota.

Hutchinson was leaving a Minnesota Sheriffs' Association conference at Arrowwood Resort & Conference Center in Alexandria in his county-issued vehicle when he crashed at about 2:30 AM on I-94, a few miles east of Alexandria. Hutchinson was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

The Douglas County attorney has filed four misdemeanor charges against Hennepin County Sheriff David Hutchinson after crashing his squad car near Alexandria, Minnesota early Wednesday morning.

Hutchinson is charged with one count each of fourth-degree driving while impaired, operating a motor vehicle under the influence of alcohol, operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol content of .08 within two hours, and carrying a pistol under the influence of alcohol. Hutchinson was served a summons at Alomere Hospital in Alexandria this afternoon.

Two juveniles are dead and three others are injured after crashing their vehicle during a high-speed chase in northeast Minneapolis early Thursday morning.

The trial of former Brooklyn Center officer Kim Potter began its first full day Wednesday, Dec. 8, with opening statements given and two witnesses called by the prosecution.

Potter is facing first-degree and second-degree manslaughter charges after fatally shooting Daunte Wright on April 11, 2021. The former officer has stated she intended to draw her Taser but drew her firearm instead, firing one round into Wright as he attempted to flee.

Hennepin County Sheriff Dave Hutchinson, 41, was involved in a single-car crash early this morning near Alexandria, according to a media release. It is being investigated by the Douglas County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Patrol as a DUI.

"I made the inexcusable decision to drive after drinking alcohol and I am deeply sorry. As the Chief Law Enforcement Officer in Hennepin County, I am held to a higher standard. I regret the choice I made and apologize to the citizens I serve, the staff I work with, and the friends and family who support me," Hutchinson said in a written statement.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner has identified the man shot by officers last Sunday evening in Mounds View as Noah Douglas Kelley, 21, from Saint Paul. Kelley died at Hennepin Healthcare due to multiple gunshot wounds.

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said two officers discharged their weapons at Kelley after responding for a report of shots fired and an armed robbery near 2537 County Rd I.

A male suspect was critically injured after an alleged violation of an order for protection, a vehicle chase with police and ensuing standoff inside a vehicle in Forest Lake on Sunday afternoon.

A prison inmate serving time for attempted first-degree murder will be serving at least six and a half more years in prison after stabbing a correctional officer with a handmade shank. Inmate Adrian Dominique Bell, 31, was already serving more than 13 years in the Stillwater prison for shooting a man seven times in an attempt to kill him back in 2012.

A man was fatally shot Saturday night in a residential area of the Payne-Phalen neighborhood on Saint Paul’s east side, bringing the number of homicides in the city this year so far to 34, which matches the record set in 1992. The city also matched that number in 2020, with a total homicide count all year of 34.

A 44-year-old man from Willernie faces two felony charges after an incident on Sunday morning resulting in a SWAT team callout. According to the criminal complaint, around 1:42 a.m., officers were dispatched to a residence on Wildwood Road in Willernie and a caller reported that Travis Terry Emerfoll was threatening other people inside the home with a knife. Deputies observed Emerfoll holding a large silver knife, he refused to comply with officers and barricaded himself inside the house, documents say.

Exclusive video released to MN CRIME shows the stolen squad car dash camera video from a wild pursuit and eventual crash last August in St. Louis County. Joshua Harjamaki, 21, stole the sheriff’s office patrol squad car from out front of the county courthouse in Virginia about 10:20 p.m. August 2nd.

Maplewood firefighters responded to an apartment fire on the 500 block of Skillman Ave E on Saturday afternoon. Residents reported smoke on the first floor and evacuated the building. Firefighters determined an apartment on the first floor had caught fire.