WILLMAR, Minn. — The Kandiyohi County Sheriff's Office has identified the victims of a shooting spree that started in Minneapolis and ended near Willmar Tuesday with one man dead and another wounded.
Office spokesman Imran Ali said in a press release Wednesday that 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London was fatally shot in what investigators described as a carjacking attempt on Highway 23 near Willmar. Earlier, the suspect reportedly shot 25-year-old Peter Mayerchak at a rural home in Lake Lillian.
The alleged shooter is a 25-year-old man from Minneapolis who is currently being held in the Kandiyohi County Jail on probable cause second-degree murder. KARE 11 generally does not identify suspects until they are formally charged, a process that the sheriff's office says will not happen on Wednesday.
Irman Ali also shared that Kandiyohi Sheriff Eric Tollefson and several of his deputies were witnesses to the fatal shooting, and will not comment on the case publicly.
"The deputies and other law enforcement officers that responded and apprehended the suspect risked their lives to protect their communities. These women and men are true heroes," Ali wrote.
Both Minneapolis police and Kandiyohi sheriff's officials say the incident began Tuesday around 12:30 p.m. when MPD officers were dispatched to a domestic violence call at an apartment building at 29th and Lyndale. Officers learned shots had been fired from an apartment balcony but no one was hurt. Chief Brian O'Hara told reporters that the suspect and the woman who rented the apartment had a child together who was soon located safe at a daycare in Minneapolis.
Crisis negotiators were able to reach the 25-year-old suspect by phone but were unable to convince him to surrender. They say the alleged gunman shot and wounded Mayerchak at a residence in Lake Lillian before leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase. When he got near Willmar, law enforcement said the suspect shot and killed Skluzacek in an attempted carjacking.
Hennepin County and Kandiyohi County authorities aren't the only ones trying to wrap their minds around the violent and deadly spree.
Pastor Joel De Boer heads Bunde Christian Reformed Church southwest of Willmar. He said people are scared, so his job is to bring them comfort in the coming days.
“We live in an uncertain dynamic,” he said. “I can be a safe place for the person to process.”
Kim Daugherty lives in Prinsburg. Three of her children attend the Central Minnesota Christian School.
“It was scary to get the text and email from the school that they are locked down,” said Daugherty.
She said it was hard to hear that families are hurting in her community.
“They were just innocent people who were in the wrong place at the wrong time,” said Daugherty.
It’s also hard to explain to her kids why this happened.
“I just asked them if they had any questions about what happened and tried to answer them as best as I could,” said Daugherty. “And my son wanted to pray for the suspect to know Jesus, and for the victims' families.”
Kim said she feels lucky to have this community to comfort each other.
“Just be there for support and hold each other close and thankful for another day,” she said.