NORMANNA TOWNSHIP — Law enforcement shot and killed a man suspected of starting several fires at his neighbors’ homes and shooting a gun at responding officers.
St. Louis County Sheriff Gordon Ramsay said in a video posted to Facebook on Tuesday afternoon that a call for a report of a structure fire on Heritage Road in Normanna Township came in at around 9:20 a.m.
The first caller said their neighbor had “sprayed” gasoline on a family member and lit their home on fire. Then another neighbor called to report that the suspect was armed with a rifle. The suspect, who lived next door to the reporting party, attempted to light the second neighbor’s house on fire, Ramsay said. Meanwhile, the suspect’s own home was “engulfed” in fire.
Ramsay said a lone volunteer firefighter from Normanna Township arrived to put out both fires at each neighbor’s house. At 9:27, the firefighter and a neighbor reported hearing shots fired.
The firefighter “believed he was shot at” but not hit, Ramsay said, and the firefighter sheltered in place. At 9:36 a.m., an officer from the Duluth Township Police Department arrived, and the suspect shot at that officer, Ramsay said. The officer was not hit and did not return fire, Ramsay said.
At 9:52 a.m., the suspect “engaged” five deputies from the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office, causing “all five deputies to discharge their weapons, striking the suspect,” Ramsay said.
Deputies unsuccessfully attempted lifesaving measures on the suspect, Ramsay said. No one else was injured.
The officers, whose names were not released, are on administrative leave, as is standard procedure. “I could not be more proud of our deputies,” Ramsay said. “They used their training, their experience, and teamwork to protect the community and to safely end this very dangerous and chaotic situation.”
Ramsay said he requested the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension investigate the deputies’ use of force and turned the scene over to them.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension posted the following statement: “BCA agents and crime scene personnel are on scene of a use-of-force incident in St. Louis County.”
That same initial report included the promise of further details “after the preliminary investigation is complete.”
Ramsay said “homemade devices” were found on the scene and are believed to have been “designed to shoot projectiles at first responders as they approached on the road.”
While Ramsay did not identify the suspect, authorities were initially dispatched to 6258 Heritage Road, home to Adam Clinton Wolf, shortly after 9 a.m. Tuesday.
Three neighbors had a restraining order against Wolf, 57, and he was awaiting a hearing for allegedly violating that order for a second time, court documents show.
The most recent incident to prompt charges occurred Oct. 13, when Wolf reportedly banged pieces of metal and shouted homophobic insults at the occupants of a neighboring residence.
He was found guilty of violating a restraining order July 1, 2023. If convicted again, the newest charge would have been considered a gross misdemeanor. The case had been scheduled for a July 8 hearing, but it was postponed last week.
Judge Leslie Beiers wrote that, if successfully prosecuted, the charge could be considered a “qualified domestic-violence related offense.”
A neighbor had also sought reimbursement totaling over $5,000 for the cost of installing a 6-foot-tall, 80-foot-long fence “to keep Mr. Wolf on his own property and to deafen the sound of his rages and insulting slurs toward my family and me.”
Related Articles
Family of man in St. Paul shooting spree apologizes to ‘innocent victims’
Mike Waltz pledges to make UN ‘great again’ at Senate confirmation hearing
Murder trial begins for Colorado dentist accused of poisoning wife’s protein shakes
Weeklong burglary trial for Minnesota Sen. Nicole Mitchell begins
Hulu series names new person of interest in Jodi Huisentruit case
Leave a Reply