Burnsville shooting: Gunman identified, had lost right to own firearms, records show

A man suspected of fatally shooting two Minnesota police officers and a firefighter-paramedic on Sunday had a previous criminal conviction and had been barred for life from owning firearms, authorities said.

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The Hennepin County Medical Examiner confirmed the identity of the alleged shooter as Shannon Cortez Gooden, 38, the Star Tribune of Minneapolis reported.

Gooden was identified as the gunman in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville who killed, Paul Elmstrand 27, and Matthew Ruge, 27, according to WCCO-TV. The firefighter paramedic was identified as Adam Finseth, 40, according to the television station.

Police said an armed man barricaded himself in a Burnsville residence with a woman and seven children. They added that Gooden took his own life after the exchange of gunfire with police several hours after the standoff began, the Star Tribune reported.

The children ranged in age from 2 years old to 15 years old, Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, told reporters during a Sunday evening news conference.

Court records indicate that Gooden lost his right to own a gun after he was convicted in 2007 of a second-degree felony assault with a dangerous weapon charge, according to KMSP-TV. The conviction came after Gooden was accused of brandishing a knife and throwing rocks at his victim during a fight in the parking lot of a Burnsville shopping center, the Star Tribune reported.

The conviction was eventually reduced to a misdemeanor because Gooden abided by the terms of his probation, according to the newspaper. He regained his right to vote but was still barred from owning firearms for life.

He unsuccessfully attempted to restore his firearm rights in 2020, KMSP reported. According to court records, Gooden said that he wanted to protect himself and his family.

The medical examiner’s office said that the three victims were declared dead between 6:33 a.m. CST and 6:46 a.m., the Star Tribune reported. Ruge was shot in the chest, and multiple shots struck Elmstrand; Finseth was shot in the right arm and torso, according to the newspaper.

Burnsville Sgt. Adam Medlicott was also injured, but was released from an area hospital by Monday, WCCO reported. He is recovering at home, officials said.

“Due to this being an active investigation, we are limited what we can share to the public and we will defer to BCA as they lead this investigation,” Ashlee Sherrill, a spokesperson for the St. Paul division of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, told reporters on Monday.

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