CLOQUET, MN – The calm of a typical Monday night at a Super 8 hotel in Northern Minnesota turned deadly after a shooting incident lead to three fatalities, among them the alleged shooter. Employees at the hotel alerted the Cloquet Police Department to the incident with a distressed 911 call shortly after 6:30 pm. An employee detailed the grim situation, having discovered a fellow staffer in a seemingly attacked state.
On-site, authorities found a 22-year-old woman gravely injured with a gunshot wound. Despite rapid transport to St. Luke’s Hospital, the woman later succumbed to her wounds. As the investigation unfolded, the body of a 35-year-old man, also a victim of gunshot wounds, was discovered in a car parked in the hotel’s precincts.
In response to the unfolding crisis, local law enforcement put a temporary shelter-in-place order into effect to ensure the safety of all area residents. Police were able to lift this precaution approximately two hours later when they discovered the body of the suspect outside the hotel premises. They dead from what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
A review of the hotel’s CCTV footage confirmed the identity of the suspect. However, the motives behind the fatal act remain unclear, remarked St. Louis County Sheriff, Wade Rauche. While the local police are being supported in their investigation by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the identities of the victims and the suspect remain under wraps until family members are appropriately notified.
Local police are preparing for an information release about the tragic events, shedding more light on this unfortunate incident.