CLOQUET, Minn. — Police have identified the victims and alleged gunman in Monday's motel shooting that ended with three people dead.
On Wednesday morning Cloquet Police Chief Derek Randall said 22-year-old hotel clerk Shellby Marie Trettel, of Cloquet, and 35-year-old Patrick Jeffrey Roers, of Deer River, were the two people fatally shot at the Super 8 motel. The man investigators say killed them was 32-year-old Nicholas Elliot Lenius, of Ramsey.
Lenius was found outside on the grounds of the Super 8, dead from what was described as a "self-inflicted gunshot wound." Chief Randall said during a news conference Tuesday that a motive for the fatal shootings is still unclear.
"Our department and law enforcement partners are dedicated to working diligently in investigating this incident, aiming to bring clarity and understanding to the circumstances surrounding it as quickly as possible," Randall wrote in a news release identifying those involved.
A GoFundMe set up by a friend of Trettel's described her as "a person with a huge heart and cared deeply for all of those she knew." A post on the site by Anchorage Wolverines Hockey offered sincere condolences from "players, coaches, and families who spent the past weekend at the hotel where they were met with smiles and positivity from Shellby."
As of 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, the GoFundMe for Trettel had reached more than $14,500 for her funeral and other expenses her family might face.
Roers was also celebrated in an obituary that describes his life's journey, including a hunger for reading and learning as a child that continued into adulthood, a stint in the U.S. Airforce, and a battle with addiction to alcohol that Patrick's family said he won, noting that he celebrated sobriety for the final three years of his life. A GoFundMe says Roers was working a new job as a heavy equipment operator and staying at the Super 8, sitting in his car relaxing and listening to music when he was fatally shot.
Cloquet police and other law enforcement agencies responded to the Super 8 just after 6:30 p.m. Monday after a 911 call from an employee, who said a coworker had been attacked. Officers immediately located Trettel near the check-in counter and had her transported to a Duluth hospital, where she died of a gunshot wound.
A shelter-in-place order was issued for the community while police searched for the gunman and additional victims. They found Roers inside a vehicle in the parking lot, dead after being shot multiple times.
Lenius was the last one discovered, lying outside the hotel with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators reviewed surveillance video from the hotel and said it identifies Lenius as the person who killed both Trettel and Roers.
Randall told reporters during a news conference Tuesday that the Minnesota BCA is processing evidence from the scene, vehicles and cell phones to attempt to determine the motive for the killings and potential relationships between those involved in the deadly incident.
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