Police shoot, injure burglary suspect in Blaine

Updated: 1:49 p.m. | Posted: 7:32 a.m.

Police officers shot and injured a burglary suspect early Thursday morning in Blaine.

The incident occurred on the 100 block of 92nd Avenue Northeast at about 3:45 a.m. Police officers from nearby Coon Rapids were called to a home by a woman who said a man had broken into the house and was fighting her boyfriend in the kitchen.

Officers arriving at the home saw a "knife-wielding suspect" inside after the boyfriend was able to open the door. Police said officers fired their weapons after the suspect "lunged" at them and the boyfriend.

The injured suspect was transported to North Memorial Medical Center in Robbinsdale. He is expected to survive.

Neither the officers involved in the incident nor the suspect have been publicly identified.

A man, who declined to give his name, said he was approached by the suspect early in the morning outside his house. He said the suspect kicked in his front door and grabbed knives from the kitchen drawers.

"I jumped on his back, I'm fighting him in my kitchen," the man said. "I grabbed a couple knives and we squared off."

The man said he was able to open the door for police when they arrived a few minutes later.

"The cops come up, and I'm holding the door open, and they're going, 'Put the knives down, put the knives down,'" the man said. "Then he lunges at us from the kitchen."

He said one officer was armed with a gun and one with a taser.

Earlier in the morning, the man said the suspect had broken the window of a car outside and attacked a woman in the car.

Blaine Police Chief Chris Olson confirmed there was another crime involving the suspect before he broke into the house, although they're not releasing any details about it.

Olson said the victim didn't know the burglary suspect. The suspect also didn't appear to have any connection to anyone in the neighborhood.

Olson said the suspect may have been involved in another crime involving a victim before breaking into the home, although no details are being released.

This is the first officer-related shooting in Blaine in 25 years, according to Olson.

The incident is being investigated by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. The Blaine Police Department and Anoka County Sheriff's Office are investigating the alleged burglary.

It's the third shooting involving police in the Metro area in the last eight days.