Burnsville police ask public to check home security video as investigation continues into 5 shot at Red Oak Park

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The five people shot and wounded in a Burnsville park last week are teenagers, and police said Wednesday they’ve interviewed about 50 witnesses so far.

There are multiple suspects but no one was under arrest as of Wednesday afternoon.

The shooting in Burnsville’s Red Oak Park happened about 8:15 p.m. Friday. Gunshots were fired toward the basketball court area of the park, which is on River Hills Drive.

Burnsville police are requesting that people check their home surveillance video from Friday between 7:45 and 8:30 p.m. and call Detective Mitch Carlson at 952-641-1156 if they find anything that could be helpful to the investigation.

The five injured are males: a 16-year-old, 17-year-old, two 18-year-olds and a 19-year-old. Two remained hospitalized as of Wednesday due to their injuries, police said.

“We have dozens of investigators diligently following all available leads,” Police Chief Tanya Schwartz said in a statement. “Our crime scene team continues to process evidence and look into all aspects of the scene. When incidents like this happen in our community, we all feel the trauma and loss of our collective sense of safety. We know residents may feel uneasy, and we take seriously our duty to find those responsible and bring them justice.”

Burnsville police are working with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives on the investigation.

Police said they continue to provide extra patrols in the Red Oak Park area.

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New Minnesota PWHL GM eager to move past tumultuous summer

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The Professional Women’s Hockey League made the prescient decision last year to include Minnesota among its inaugural six franchises despite the fact that the Twin Cities are the far-west outlier, a recognition of not just how popular hockey is here, but women’s hockey in particular.

The league subsequently decided to hire local hockey legend Natalie Darwitz as the Minnesota team’s first general manager, which resulted in the team’s decision to make local star Taylor Heise the top overall pick in the first PWHL draft.

Melissa Caruso (Courtesy PWHL)

The team played home games in front of full lower bowls at Xcel Energy Center, then won the league’s first championship — with Heise scoring a postseason-leading five goals and eight points.

It could not have gone better.

Then a month after Minnesota rallied from two games down to beat regular-season champion Toronto for the Walter Cup, the league fired Darwitz on Jan. 8 behind a veil of secrecy, saying only that the decision was made after a lengthy internal and external review. To make matters worse, the league oversaw Minnesota’s draft and used the team’s second-round pick on Wisconsin forward Britta Curl, who spent her college career antagonizing the Gophers.

Now, Minnesota is eager to move forward from what has been a bad summer for the locals. New GM Melissa Caruso spent 15 years in the American Hockey League as an administrator and hails from Massachusetts — although she has lived in St. Paul for the past two years.

“I have definitely been made aware of everything that’s been going on here the past number of months,” Caruso said Wednesday during a conference call. “Moving forward. I started here yesterday, so I’m going to evaluate where we’re at from a team perspective and move ahead to Season 2.”

Caruso started at the AHL, the top minor league for the NHL, as an intern in 2009 and spent the past five years as its vice president for hockey operations and governance.

PWHL senior vice president for hockey operations Jayna Hefford said the league plans to start playing its second season before Jan. 1. Caruso said Minnesota has signed 16 players with a roster of 23 to fill. Kevin Klee, who became Minnesota’s coach just prior to last season, will return, and the team expects to play its games at the X again this season.

The PWHL owns and operates all six teams.

Caruso did not play college hockey, and her experience is primarily in administration, although it is widely varied and includes work on the collective bargaining agreement, scheduling, and business relationships with the NHL and PWHL.

“If you look around this league, the NHL, the AHL, everyone takes their own path to being a GM, and my background I’m very proud of,” Caruso said. “In terms of the player piece to this, I have a lot to learn as a first-time general manager. I know I’ve got a great staff in place here in St. Paul, and I’m really looking forward to working with them. And I’m a fast learner as I dive in head-first here.”

Caruso said she spoke to Klee last week — it was “a very positive conversation,” she said — and did not speak to any of Minnesota’s players until she accepted the job this week.

“I feel lucky and excited to have Ken here as a leader in the locker room,” Caruso said. “He’s got extensive coaching experience; I anticipate learning a ton from him and from the staff, and look forward to working with him this upcoming season.”

Caruso also acknowledged the situation into which she’s stepping contains professional promise and a certain amount of peril.

“It’s no secret that what Natalie built here in Season 1 was an incredible foundation for this team,” she said. “She’s so beloved here in the State of Hockey, so I know all eyes are on me starting out here. I’m ready to take on that challenge.

“But there certainly is going to be pressure and, I think, expectations for the team and for the fans. I’m lucky to have inherited what I’ve inherited. I think there’s a great base here.”

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Teen arraigned on attempted murder in shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie says he is very sorry

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By OLGA R. RODRIGUEZ

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — A 17-year-old high school senior charged with attempted murder in the daytime weekend shooting of San Francisco 49ers rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall was arraigned in juvenile court Wednesday and said through his attorney that he was sorry for what happened.

The slight teen wore a green sweatshirt and green pants, looked straight ahead at the judge during the proceeding and did not turn around to acknowledge his parents, who were in the room.

San Francisco District Attorney Brooke Jenkins charged the teen on Tuesday with attempted murder, assault with a semiautomatic weapon and attempted second-degree robbery. On Wednesday, her office added several gun-related charges.

Her office has not decided whether try the juvenile as an adult, saying they need time to investigate further and, if appropriate, petition the court to transfer the case to adult court. California law prevents prosecutors from charging a minor as an adult without judicial approval.

The teen’s attorney, Deputy Public Defender Bob Dunlap, told reporters after the hearing that he is very sorry about what happened.

“He’s genuinely very sorry that this did happen, as is his family, and I can say on their behalf, as well as on my own behalf, our thoughts go out to the Pearsall family and Mr. Pearsall himself. So there is genuine, genuine remorse in that regard,” Dunlap said. “He is a young boy.”

A probation officer recommended the teen stay in custody and be transferred to his home county of San Joaquin, where he has another matter pending. But Superior Court Judge Roger C. Chan said the teen will stay in San Francisco custody.

Family members of both the teen and Pearsall were in the room Wednesday, Chan said.

The daylight shooting Saturday of a professional athlete in an upscale shopping district downtown put the national spotlight again on a city that struggled with brazen shoplifting, empty storefronts and assaults on Asian American seniors. Mayor London Breed, a Democrat, is in a tight reelection contest in November.

Pearsall, 23, was walking alone to his car shortly after 3:30 p.m. Saturday after shopping at luxury stores in Union Square when the suspect allegedly spotted the NFL player for his Rolex watch. A struggle ensued, and gunfire from the suspect’s firearm struck both Pearsall and the teenager, who was shot in the arm, police said.

The 49er rookie was shot through the chest at close range, officials said. His mother, Erin Pearsall, posted on social media that the bullet went through the right side of her son’s chest and out his back without striking any vital organs.

Pearsall was released Sunday from the San Francisco General Hospital and Trauma Center.

He was back at the team facility on Monday, San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch said Tuesday. The Niners placed Pearsall on the non-football injury list, giving him time to recover from the shooting and a shoulder injury that had limited him all summer, Lynch said.

The teen lives in Tracy, a city about 60 miles (100 kilometers) east of San Francisco.

He was arrested about a block away from where he allegedly confronted Pearsall.

Westbound I-94 in St. Paul to close this weekend

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Westbound Interstate 94 between I-35E and Highway 280 will be closed in St. Paul this weekend, according to the Minnesota Department of Transportation.

The closure begins at 10 p.m. Friday and ends at 5 a.m. Monday.

Drivers will be detoured north on I-35E, west on Highway 36 and south on Highway 280 during the closure.

Minnesota Department of Transportation crews will be inspecting, repairing and cleaning roadway structures in the area.

For the latest updates on road conditions, visit www.511mn.org or call 511.

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