Five members of a Sherburne County Drug Task Force were shot Thursday morning while executing a search warrant at a Benton County residence.
All of the officers are expected to survive, the Benton County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
“This has been a difficult day for us in Benton County. We are grateful that the incident did not result in loss of life. We are also grateful for the bravery and professionalism of all those law enforcement professionals that were involved in this incident,” Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck said at a press conference Thursday afternoon.
According to Heck, officers were executing a warrant at a residence in the area of 190th Avenue Northeast and Glendorado Road in Glendorado Township shortly after 7 a.m. when they “came under fire.” Five members of the task force were transported to the hospital by ambulance or air ambulance.
They included three Sherburne County Sheriff’s Office members, a Princeton Police Department officer, and an Elk River Police Department Officer.
Two were hit in their bulletproof vests and have been released. Three others have been taken to North Memorial Health Hospital in Robbinsdale where they continue to receive treatment.
The suspected shooter is Karl Thomas Holmberg, 64, and he has prior felonies on his record, Heck said. He and a woman were the only people in the residence at the time of the incident. The woman was evaluated at a hospital and released, Heck.
Heck said he can’t discuss the details of the warrant at this time.
According to Heck, officers announced their arrival multiple times before entering the home. They came under fire, returned fire, and then retreated. At 10:47 a.m., after several hours of negotiations, Holmberg was taken into custody.
“We don’t know at this point the extent or cause of his injuries,” Heck said. All of the officers were “working in an undercover capacity” so their names cannot be released, Heck said.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating the incident. Several agencies responded to assist after the shooting occurred.
According to the Fraternal Order of Police, 290 officers have been shot in the line of duty this year and 37 of them have died, including six in the region.
