BREAKING: Five law enforcement officers shot near Princeton, Minnesota

October 12, 2023

PRINCETON, Minn. (AP) — Five law enforcement officers were shot and wounded Thursday in an incident near the east-central Minnesota city of Princeton, authorities said.

The suspect was not in custody and the incident was ongoing late Thursday morning.

Three of the officers were taken to North Memorial Hospital in the Minneapolis suburb of Robbinsdale while two were taken to a hospital in St. Cloud, said Robbinsdale Police Capt. John Elder, who was assisting the hospital, and added that none of the wounds appeared to be life-threatening.

Elder said he did not immediately know which departments the wounded officers were from, but that they came from multiple agencies.

The Benton County Sheriff’s Office provided few details in its initial statement. The department said it was being assisted by several other public safety agencies on a “critical incident” unfolding in Glendorado Township, which is a few miles west of Princeton. It said there was no danger to the general public, although the public was being asked to avoid the area.

The area is about 50 miles northwest of Minneapolis.