MINNEAPOLIS — U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger and local law enforcement held a news conference Thursday morning to announce a 35-year-old woman has been charged with illegally buying the guns used in the killings of three first responders in last month's standoff at a home with seven children inside.
Burnsville officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, both 27, and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth, 40, were killed in the Feb. 18 standoff. Authorities said 38-year-old Shannon Gooden opened fire without warning, and then later killed himself.
On Thursday morning, federal authorities said Ashley Anne Dyrdahl, Gooden's long-time girlfriend, conspired with him to buy guns, despite Gooden being banned from owning a weapon due to a past felony conviction.
"Ashley Dyrdahl didn't shoot anybody, make no mistake," said Drew Evans, Superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA.) "But Ashley Dyrdahl handed him (Gooden) the guns, and for this, she must be held accountable."
Dyrdahl is charged with one count of conspiracy, five counts of straw purchasing, and five counts of making false statements during the purchase of a firearm. On Thursday, she pleaded not guilty at her first federal court appearance in St. Paul and left the building covering her face from television cameras.
According to court documents, Dyrdahl began a relationship with Gooden in 2016 and as early as 2019 knew that he had previously been convicted of a felony that barred him from owning firearms. In 2020, she filed a letter supporting Gooden's petition to restore his firearm rights in which she acknowledged his conviction and crime. That petition was denied.
"Gooden used the firearms that Dyrdahl supplied to murder two police officers and a firefighter paramedic, and injure a third officer, during an armed standoff with law enforcement officers who were responding to a call for help," according to a news release announcing the charges against Dyrdahl.
Among the guns Dyrdahl is accused of buying are two AR-15-style firearms. Dyrdahl pleaded not guilty to all charges Thursday afternoon at the U.S. District Court in St. Paul. She is being released with conditions pending the trial.
Court records show Gooden wasn’t legally allowed to have guns because of his criminal record and had been entangled in an extended dispute over the custody of his three oldest children. The children in the house, including those that belong to Gooden and Dyrdahl, were ages 2 to 15 years.
Police were dispatched to the home around 1:50 a.m., according to the BCA. Gooden refused to leave but said he was unarmed and that he had children inside. Officers entered and negotiated with him for about 3 1/2 hours to try to persuade him to surrender. But just before 5:30 a.m., the bureau said, Gooden opened fire on officers inside without warning.
Elmstrand, Ruge and Sgt. Adam Medlicott are believed to have been first shot inside the home, the bureau said. Medlicott and another officer, who was not injured, returned fire from inside the home, wounding Gooden in the leg. Medlicott, 38, survived being shot while tending to the wounded.
Ruge and Medlicott were shot a second time as the officers made their way to an armored vehicle in the driveway, according to the bureau. Finseth, who was assigned to the SWAT team, was shot while trying to aid the officers. Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth were pronounced dead at a local hospital.
Gooden had “several firearms” and fired more than 100 rounds before killing himself, the BCA said. A court document filed by a bureau agent said the initial 911 call was about a "sexual assault allegation” but did not provide details.
Noemi Torres, who dated Gooden before Dyrdahl and also shared kids with him, said she only knew Dyrdahl in passing. While she said that Dyrdahl will need to take "accountability" in the case, she also said she doesn't harbor anger toward her.
"I feel bad for her, to be honest. I have a lot of sympathy for her because we were both in that same position -- living with Shannon," Torres said. "She could have told him no... but I feel like she didn't have that willpower."
Three of Torres' kids were in the Burnsville house during the Feb. 18 standoff. She said that they are starting therapy to deal with the trauma of that morning.
"It's sad they had to lose their lives saving my children," Torres said. "My heart goes out to the [officers'] families. My children, they feel bad for the responders. They mention it to me all the time. Hopefully they get the justice and the closure that they're looking for."
John McConkey, a Burnsville gun store owner, told reporters late last month that part of one of the AR-15s found at the scene was traced to his store and had been bought by a purchaser who passed the background check and took possession of it on Jan. 5. He said authorities told him that the individual who picked it up was under investigation for committing a felony straw purchase and insisted that Gooden was not there when the gun changed hands.
Two weeks ago, a memorial service for Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth drew thousands of law enforcement officers, firefighters and paramedics.
Dakota County Attorney Kathy Keena issued the following statement:
Shannon Gooden was convicted by my office in 2008 of second-degree assault — a felony offense — prohibiting him from possessing firearms. In 2020, Mr. Gooden filed a petition to have his gun rights restored.
My office opposed the petition and the court sided with my office and denied it.
Tragically, the efforts of my office were negated due to the actions of Ashley Dyrdahl.
Ms. Dyrdahl was well aware Mr. Gooden was prohibited from possessing firearms as she filed an affidavit in support of his petition of restoration.
As she stated in her affidavit about Mr. Gooden, "Family is everything to him and that is why these rights are so meaningful to him. He hopes to one day own his own home and protecting that home involves having these 2nd Amendment rights."
In retrospect, it was the seven children in his home who needed protection from him.
Ms. Dyrdahl is the reason why Mr. Gooden had an arsenal of firearms in his possession that resulted in the murder of three of Dakota County's finest and the injury of another as they selflessly acted to protect those children.
Under Minnesota law, an illegal firearm purchase — or a straw purchase — is only a gross misdemeanor-level offense, punishable by a maximum sentence of 364 days in jail, a $3,000 fine or both.
To charge that level of crime under the facts and circumstances of this case would be a disgrace to the memories of our fallen heroes.
The Minnesota Legislature needs to take action to increase penalties for straw purchasers under state law.
The federal law under which Ashley Dyrdahl has been indicted provides a road map to do so.
I wish to thank U.S. Attorney Andy Luger and his staff for their determination and tenacity in seeking an indictment in this matter; and doing so in an expeditious manner.
I also wish to thank the Minnesota BCA and the ATF for their outstanding work in investigating this case.
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