ANDOVER, Minn. — Authorities say a man is dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound following a fire and armed standoff in Andover Wednesday morning.
Anoka County Sheriff's Office spokesman Lt. Andy Knotz says a passerby was driving down the 300 block of Andover Boulevard NW just before 6:30 a.m. when they saw smoke pouring from a home and dialed 911. By the time deputies and fire crews arrived the home was engulfed in flames.
While responding to the call deputies encountered a man inside a trailer in back of the property. Knotz says that man was armed and making threats. Firefighters were pulled back from fighting the fire as a matter of safety, and eventually the home burned to the foundation.
The Anoka County SWAT Team and negotiators were called in, and an attempt was made to engage the suspect in dialogue, but Knotz says around 10 a.m. a single gunshot was heard. The SWAT team made entry into the trailer and the man was discovered dead.
"It's obviously a tragic situation for both the victim and the victim's family," Knotz said.
Knotz told KARE 11 that it appears the man who died was the only one on the property at the time of the incident. He says deputies have been called to the property previously.
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