St. Louis County sheriff’s deputies took a man into custody Sunday evening after he allegedly shot at a firefighting aircraft earlier in the week.
Daniel Christian Pettit, 48, is currently being held on charges of reckless discharge of a firearm, second-degree assault, and felony criminal damage to property, the St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office said in a press release.
On Friday, state, local, and federal firefighting resources were responding to a fire in Portage Township, approximately 15 miles north of Orr.
Two single-engine, fire-suppression aircraft operating under contract for the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources were also dispatched to the fire.
When the planes returned to Hibbing Airport, it was determined that one of them appeared to have been struck by a bullet, the sheriff’s office said at the time.
Authorities believe the plane was struck after scooping water from Kjostad Lake around 7 p.m.
Law enforcement executed a search warrant at Pettit’s residence Sunday and seized several firearms and ammunition.
The pilot did not sustain any injuries.
Gov. Tim Walz activated the National Guard Sunday to assist with wildfires that have spread across portions of Lake, Crow Wing, and St. Louis counties over the past few days. Walz’s office said that, as of Sunday, the largest active fires were the Steward Trail Fire near Two Harbors, estimated at 355 acres, and the Flanders Fire in Crow Wing County, estimated at 1,000 acres.
Anthony Gockowski
Anthony Gockowski is Editor-in-Chief of Alpha News. He previously worked as an editor for The Minnesota Sun and Campus Reform, and wrote for the Daily Caller.
