Who is Shannon Gooden? Officials identify Burnsville shooting suspect

38-year-old Shannon Gooden has been identified as the suspect who allegedly was behind the fatal shooting in Burnsville. The deadly incident took place on Sunday, February 18, 2024, and authorities from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension confirmed the suspect's identity a little over a day after that. The victims have been identified as Matthew Ruge, Paul Elmstrand, and Adam Finseth.

Trigger warning: The article contains references to gun violence. Readers' discretion is advised.

Associated Press reported that according to court documents, Gooden wasn't permitted to carry a gun. Authorities also discovered that Gooden had criminal records including one time when he attacked a man with a knife and rocks back in 2008.

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Shannon Gooden is considered to be the suspect who opened fire at responders in Burnsville and then lost his own life too

A horrific incident occurred at a Burnsville residence, on Sunday, February 18, 2024. Police received a report of domestic abuse to which they responded soon. Police then became aware of a man who had barricaded himself inside the house along with seven children and an adult female.

On Monday, authorities confirmed the identity of the suspect as Shannon Gooden. Apart from the three deceased responders, another officer identified as Sgt. Adam Medlicott was shot but survived the attack. Police looked into the suspect and discovered that he had prior criminal records which prohibited him from owning a firearm. CBS News reported that in 2004 and 2005, Shannon was convicted of disorderly conduct. Then in 2008, he pleaded guilty to second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon.

After being restricted from owning a gun then, he filed a petition in the court in 2020 to get his right to have a firearm restored. According to the petition, as reported to the news station,

"Mr. Gooden has taken significant steps to prove his value as a productive and law-abiding citizen."

The petition was, however, denied. According to public police scanner records obtained from Dayton County, Shannon Gooden was an African-American man who was 5 feet 6 inches tall and weighed about 170 pounds.

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Gooden allegedly threatened his former partner, Noemi Torres

The standoff between the suspect and the officers ended in the death of three responders and Shannon Gooden as well. Times Now News reported that the suspect died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Cops have not revealed a lot of information about the primary reason behind the 911 call made that day. According to authorities, the suspect had conflicts with the mother of his three oldest children.

While investigating, cops also discovered that the house Gooden was living in, was a rented one from two Indians. Noemi Torres, the mother, recalled the entire time of the standoff and the shooting when she was inside the house with the kids and Gooden. Torres stated that during the tragic incident, her 12-year-old daughter was with Shannon Gooden in the bedroom. Torres told KARE-TV and said that Gooden allegedly told her that he would shoot cops if she called 911. She quoted him saying,

"I’m going to have a standoff. I’m going to kill everybody.”

Torres and Gooden reportedly had been having ongoing legal disputes over the custody of the three oldest kids. It has been confirmed that after the shooting, all the children were found safe. Noemi Torres' three children also went back to her, as reported by CBS News.