X (Shannon Gooden)/Getty Shannon Gooden (l) and a scene from the first responders' procession.
Shannon Cortez Gooden, a painter and felon with a history of domestic violence-related accusations, is the suspect accused of shooting two Burnsville, Minnesota, police officers and a paramedic to death, according to multiple Minnesota news reports.
Gooden’s name was first reported by the Minnesota news site Alpha News. KARE11 and WCCO, both Minnesota television stations, have since confirmed that Gooden is the deceased Burnsville shooting suspect.
Authorities have yet to identify the shooter in the deaths of the three first responders. The City of Burnsville identified the victims in a news release emailed to Heavy as police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth.
Burnsville PDThe Burnsville police officer and parademic who were killed: Officer Paul Elmstrand, Officer Matthew Ruge, Paramedic Adam Finseth.
Public records show Cortez Gooden with an address in the 1200 block of 33rd Avenue South in Burnsville, Minnesota. That’s the same address given for the shooting in the city’s news release. A felony conviction barred him from possessing weapons, court records show, and he failed in an attempt to get his firearm rights restored. He also has a history of domestic violence accusations.
In addition, a friend of Gooden’s wrote in a tribute on Facebook, “Man I swear this [expletive] can’t be true Shannon Gooden we was my big bro all I can do is cry 😢 I can’t believe u are gone.”
Finseth was an Iraq war veteran, according to a tribute on Facebook. Elmstrand got his start in a law enforcement explorers’ program and served on the police Honor Guard, a press release from the City of Burnsville indicates. Ruge was a trained crisis negotiator, according to the release.
Minnesota Governor Tim Walz wrote on X, “Horrific news from Burnsville. While responding to a call of a family in danger, two police officers and one firefighter lost their lives, and other officers were injured.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Shannon Cortez Gooden Was First Named as the Shooter by Alpha News, the Site Which Published the Documentary ‘The Fall of Minneapolis’
Several sources have identified Shannon Cortez Gooden, 38, as the deceased suspect in the shooting today that killed 2 Burnsville police officers and a fire medic. He petitioned to have his gun rights restored in 2020 in relation to a 2008 felony assault conviction.
According to Alpha News, Shannon Cortez Gooden is the gunman. KARE11, a Minneapolis television station, later confirmed that information through multiple law enforcement sources and neighbors, as did WCCO.
“Several sources have identified Shannon Cortez Gooden, 38, as the deceased suspect in the shooting today that killed 2 Burnsville police officers and a fire medic. He petitioned to have his gun rights restored in 2020 in relation to a 2008 felony assault conviction,” the site wrote on X.
The X page CrimeWatchMPLS also reported that Gooden was the deceased gunman. “We’ve received the same info from other sources. Information during the Burnsville standoff this morning also indicated that Shannon was wanted or was to be arrested for 2nd degree criminal sexual conduct,” the site wrote on X. That information has not been verified by authorities either.
Facebook (Shannon Gooden)Shannon Cortez Gooden.
The friend who posted about Gooden added in another post, “Shannon why boo why u leave like this boo I can’t believe this u was a solid one I love u 😘 so much my love bug.” The friend linked to a Facebook page for Gooden that matched the employment details in the gun rights petition. Several people who commented mentioned that Gooden is accused of being the police shooter.
Alpha News is the site that published a documentary called “The Fall of Minneapolis” that featured an interview with incarcerated Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin, who was convicted of the 2020 murder of George Floyd.
2. Shannon Gooden Filed a Petition in 2020 Seeking to Have His Gun Rights Restored
MN court recordsShannon Cortez Gooden court document.
Shannon Gooden’s “restoration of Firearm rights” petition says he filed a request to be able to carry a gun in 2020 in the County of Dakota.
It says that he “requests that the Court restore his gun rights. This motion is made on the grounds that Mr. Gooden has been released from physical confinement and that there is good cause for the court to grant this motion.”
The request was denied, according to Minnesota court records.
According to the document, “because of the age of the crime coupled with the fact that Mr. Gooden has clearly been rehabilitated, it is in the interest of justice for the court to grant this motion.” It is signed by attorney Mathew K. Higbee.
The petition says the action “arises out of a case from 2008 in which Mr. Gooden was convicted” of assault in the second degree with a dangerous weapon in Minnesota.
He “has taken significant steps to prove his value as a productive and law-abiding citizen,” other than misdemeanor traffic offenses, it says. It says that Minnesota wanted to be able to “protect not only himself but his family as well.”
Facebook (Shannon Gooden)Shannon Gooden
His Minnesota court history includes a 2022 child support case, civil actions and orders of protection filed against him, and an assault with a dangerous weapon conviction. That case says a charge of terroristic threats was dismissed.
According to KARE 11, in 2017, his child’s mother accused Gooden of having “head-butted her face — causing a concussion and black eye — and threw her down the stairs,” but she didn’t show up for the court hearing. Another woman who is the mother to Gooden’s children accused him of having “cut her clothes with a knife, causing her to fall down the stairs,” KARE 11 reported, but the accusations were deemed unproven.
In the 2008 conviction, according to KARE 11, Gooden was accused of having “pulled out a 7-inch knife during a fight at a shopping center then threw rocks at a woman’s car.”
3. Shannon Cortez Gooden Posted a Video of Him Target Shooting in a Garage
X (Shannon Gooden)The cover photo on Shannon Gooden’s X page.
The photo of Gooden used by Alpha News comes from his X page. “I’m loyal to the ones I love,” it says, adding that he is from Lakeville, Minnesota. There are no posts on the page, which has three followers and a cover photo showing cash and baseball hats.
The gun petition says Gooden completed anger management courses, a parenting course, and earned an associate degree at Dakota Technical College in Rosemount, Minnesota as well as working at a collision shop in Rosemount, it says.
Facebook (Shannon Cortez Gooden)Shannon Cortez Gooden.
Gooden had not updated his Facebook page since 2018. It shows him at a Burnsville shopping center and with kids.
The Facebook page also contains a video showing a man with a gun in a garage and the caption, “Shooting with (a woman’s) prescription glasses.” A similar video read, “Back in day target shooting.” It shows a man with a gun in the garage.
“I’m picturing a white person,” he says in one of those videos, which is still visible on his Facebook page.
In 2014, he wrote, “I’m so grateful. One year outta school and already a painter. I worked hard for this sh** and ain’t nobody gone take it from meh. Next month is my year review and I asked for 15.50 commission hours cause that’s what I’m worth as a entry level painter.” That same year, he also wrote, “At the crib getting drunk alone, first sign of depression ha.”
In 2013, he wrote, “I’m so sick of people posting (expletive) about Barack Obama, Just negative shit negative (expletive) negative sh&&. how well would you control the United States. Most of the critics are stay-at-home moms let’s just say hypothetically your husband leaves your dumb (expletive) and you’ve never worked a day in your life; You been living off your husband, and he decides to leaves you with nothing and then you got no choice but to go on welfare/food stamp ….. In that case would you be thankful for the government.”
4. Police Say the 2 Burnsville Officers & Paramedic Were Shot While Responding to a ‘Domestic Situation’
Burnsville PDThe Burnsville police officer and parademic who were killed: Officer Paul Elmstrand, Officer Matthew Ruge, Paramedic Adam Finseth.
Dispatch audio from the tragedy was posted on Facebook. “He’s waiting in the hall waiting for an ambush,” an officer says in the audio.
“We have three officers shot,” an officer said. Another said there were “rifle shots out of the house. I want to know where this evac is going to be for our officers. Is anybody trying to make contact with this guy?”
“Have the ambulance back up,” an officer said. “We need more armor,” said another. “We’re all pinned down,” said an officer.
“Both top windows. He’s moving left and right. Heavy gunfire from the front,” the officer said, when asked where the gunfire was coming from. “Don’t let them get any closer. The ambulance needs to turn its lights off.”
“Our Force Investigations Unit is investigating an incident in Burnsville. A man who shot and killed two officers and a paramedic has also died. More details to come once our preliminary investigation is complete,” the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension wrote.
“The Burnsville community is mourning the loss of Police Officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and Firefighter/Paramedic Adam Finseth,” the City of Burnsville wrote in the emailed press release.
“At 1:50 a.m. Sunday, Feb. 18, Burnsville Police were called to the 12600 block of 33rd Avenue South on a report of a domestic situation where a man reported to be armed was barricaded with family members. After arriving, the situation escalated into gunfire with responders,” the release says.
“Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth were killed by the gunman during the response. One other Police Officer, Sgt. Adam Medlicott, was injured and transported to a hospital where he is believed to have non-life-threatening injuries.” According to the release, “At approximately 8 a.m., the suspect was reported to be dead. Later in the morning, the other family members left the home and are safe. There is no ongoing threat. Residents are asked to allow public safety personnel to perform their duties and stay away from the area until further notice.”
“The Burnsville Police Department has 75 sworn officers and 19 civilian employees,” the department’s website says.
According to the AP, Finseth was shot while trying to help a wounded officer. The suspect holed himself inside the home with his family, including seven children, AP reported. One officer was shot inside the home, where the suspect had multiple weapons, AP reported.
5. The City Provided Biographical Information on Officers Paul Elmstrand & Matthew Ruge & Paramedic Adam Finseth
Burnsville PDAdam Medlicott, Sgt.
The city’s release provided biographical information on the victims.
“Elmstrand, 27, joined the Burnsville Police Department in August 2017 as a Community Service Officer. He was promoted to Officer in July 2019. He was part of the department’s mobile command staff, peer team, Honor Guard and field training unit,” the release said.
KARE 11 reported that Elmstrand got his start in a police explorers program.
“Ruge, 27, joined the Burnsville Police Department in April 2020. He was part of the department’s crisis negotiations team and was a physical evidence officer,” the release says.
“Finseth, 40, has been a Burnsville Firefighter/Paramedic since February 2019,” the release says.
Finseth served in Iraq, according to a tribute post on Facebook.
On his LinkedIn page, Finseth wrote that he had worked as an emergency department technician for Abbott Northwestern Hospital for more than 13 years and that he served as an infantry squad leader in the U.S. Army from 2003 to 2009.
“Deployed a total of twenty-five months with Bravo Company, 1st battalion 327th Infantry in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Responsible for leading and training a seven to nine man rifle squad for pre-deployment and overseas operations in Iraq. Developed basic leadership knowledge and skills. Accountable for over $1,439,847 of assigned squad equipment,” the page says.
Finseth’s grandmother’s obit says he was married to Tara Finseth, a registered nurse, according to LinkedIn.
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