Minnesota state authorities said Thursday that they have begun investigating two police shootings in a lengthy standoff in St. Michael.
The state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) said a St. Cloud police officer shot and wounded Brandon Gardas, 39, of St. Michael about 8:30 p.m. Wednesday, ending a standoff that had begun about 12:30 a.m. Tuesday.
The agency said Thursday that Gardas was awake and alert at North Memorial Hospital.
The BCA said a Wright County Sheriff's deputy had shot at but did not strike Gardas just before midnight Tuesday.
The agency did not name the officers involved. No officers were injured.
Wright County sheriff's deputies were initially sent to the St. Michael home after a caller reported a man carrying a rifle and arguing with a woman, authorities said. Police surrounded the home on Central Avenue; a woman and two children had already left the home, but a boy remained inside.
At 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, deputies tried to contact Gardas by cellphone and loudspeaker. About 6 p.m., the third child walked unhurt from the home, and shortly thereafter the suspect fired at officers with a long gun.
The man's wife was booked into Wright County jail for allegedly helping an offender to avoid arrest, jail records show.
The BCA said the investigation was "still in the very early stages."
