After a nearly eight-hour standoff, police took a suspect into custody who fired at Hennepin County deputies while they were serving a warrant in south Minneapolis on Tuesday afternoon.
Hennepin County Sheriff Dawanna Witt said that at around 11:15 a.m., deputies were trying to serve a Minnesota Department of Corrections felony arrest warrant for weapons in the area of West 28th Street and Nicollet Avenue.
Officials later confirmed that the arrest warrant was for 31-year-old Tyler Joseph O’Brien.
When deputies knocked on the apartment door, they heard multiple shots fired and learned that a woman and child were also in the apartment being held hostage.
Hennepin County authorities say the woman and child eventually left the apartment safely.
About an hour later, O’Brien said that he pulled the pin on an explosive device and was willing to throw it; however, no explosive device was used.
Authorities from multiple law enforcement agencies set up a perimeter and the building was evacuated, as negotiators with the Minneapolis Police Department made contact with O’Brien over the phone.
A drone was used to locate O’Brien in the building, but he shot it down, Hennepin County officials say.
After nearly eight hours, O’Brien surrendered and was taken into custody.
No law enforcement or community members were injured during the standoff, with Witt adding that no officers fired their weapons during the encounter.
The exact number of rounds fired is under investigation, with Witt believing a handgun and a long gun were involved. She added that shots fired toward law enforcement came from an AR-15-style weapon.
Court records show that in Mower County in 2022, O’Brien was convicted of one count of illegally possessing a firearm/ammunition and one count of second-degree drug possession.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, MPD, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), FBI and Brooklyn Park police all assisted with the incident.
Authorities will remain on scene to clear and process the apartment.
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