OTSEGO, Minn. — A deputy with the Wright County Sheriff's Office fatally shot a 22-year-old man early Sunday morning in Otsego, according to the sheriff's office.
According to a press release by the Wright County Sheriff's Office, deputies responded to the 12000 block of 72nd Court in Otsego just before 1 a.m. Sunday, where it was reported that a "man was having mental health challenges and had threatened physical harm to his family and himself."
When law enforcement arrived, they talked to the man and he agreed to go for an evaluation at a hospital, according to the sheriff's office. While they waited for an ambulance to arrive and take him to the hospital, officials said he ran inside the house, went to the kitchen and grabbed a knife.
The man then ran out of the home and into the surrounding neighborhood, prompting law enforcement to form a perimeter around the neighborhood and to request the Minnesota State Patrol's helicopter, the sheriff's office said.
Deputies soon found the man in a neighboring backyard and tried to TASE him, but it didn't work, according to the sheriff's office. When he got closer to the deputies, he threatened the officers with the knife and two deputies shot him.
The Wright County Sheriff's Office said law enforcement performed life-saving measures until EMS crews arrived. The man, who has yet to be identified, was taken to North Memorial Hospital where he later died.
A neighbor, who wished to remain anonymous, said she witnessed the shooting. She said she heard deputies yell, "taser" followed by the sound of tasers being deployed. She then heard deputies telling him to drop the knife followed by the sound of multiple gunshots. When she approached the scene, she saw a deputy trying to resuscitate the man.
Due to standard procedure for an officer-involved shooting, the deputies who shot the man were placed on administrative leave, according to officials. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will now investigate the fatal shooting.
Hansen's aunt and uncle Sara and John Wroblewski released this statement:
"Jordyn Hansen is our nephew. He was full of life and compassion and possibilities for his future. We’re heartbroken at this situation. He moved into our home a few months ago after completing treatment for mental health issues - we believe it was his best chance at a full recovery away from his previous lifestyle which triggered mental health crisis.
We contacted law enforcement after midnight on Saturday night to let them know we felt Jordyn was having a mental health episode and we needed him to be removed from our home to get some help. Jordyn had communicated threats to family outside our home but didn’t make any threats to us, but there were signs of volatility when we were with Jordyn prior to police arriving and we made officers aware of this.
We believe there were multiple opportunities inside our home for officers to peacefully restrain and contain Jordyn knowing that this was a mental health call and the situation was unpredictable and could change in a moments notice. The officers allowed Jordyn to be escorted through our home unrestrained which is how he obtained a weapon (knife). We believe the outcome would have been different if officers had handled this differently inside our home. We have many questions for law enforcement that we are still awaiting answers on."
The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the case. Wright County has not released any new updates.
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