What started as a Tuesday domestic assault at an apartment building in Minneapolis ended 90 miles west of the metro area in a deadly shooting near Willmar, with another gunshot victim near Lake Lillian.
According to Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara, who spoke at a news conference late Tuesday afternoon, the incident at the apartment building started around 12:30 p.m. when the suspect’s ex-girlfriend came to pick up some of her belongings and the suspect began shooting at her and her new partner from an apartment balcony.
The suspect reportedly shared custody of a 2-year-old daughter with the ex-girlfriend.
Before the building on Lyndale Avenue South at West 29th Street was cleared, negotiators were on the phone with the suspect and discovered he had left the area. Law enforcement agencies west of the Twin Cities were notified to be on the lookout, according to O’Hara.
According to reports from police radio scanners, negotiators also learned he was willing to shoot at law enforcement and was threatening suicide by cop.
Law enforcement agencies located the suspect’s Jeep and began a pursuit that eventually turned into a high-speed chase that reached speeds exceeding 100 mph westbound on Minnesota 7, according to the scanner reports.
At 2:01 p.m. Tuesday, negotiators suspected that the man had shot someone. Law enforcement found the suspect’s Jeep and discovered he had stolen another vehicle, according to scanner reports.
At 2:08 p.m., Carver County law enforcement confirmed he had carjacked another vehicle, and there was a report of a gunshot victim found inside a house near 195th Avenue Southeast on Highway 7 in Lake Lillian, 12 miles southeast of Willmar in Kandiyohi County. The victim had a gunshot wound that passed through the top part of the chest and law enforcement locked down the area, according to scanner reports.
The victim’s wife later told investigators that the suspect told her husband that he was going to shoot someone if he couldn’t speak with his young daughter.
According to scanner traffic, law enforcement lost the suspect as he entered the city of Raymond, 12 miles southwest of Willmar, but he was spotted again driving eastbound on Minnesota 23 near County Road 1.
At 2:25 p.m., the OnStar driver assistance service executed a slowdown on the stolen vehicle as it traveled on the Highway 71/23 bypass south of Willmar. Squad vehicles were reported to be in position and setting up a perimeter.
The suspect is said to have fled on foot and attempted to steal another vehicle before running across westbound lanes and throwing something on the ground.
Law enforcement called for an ambulance at 2:27 p.m. for another gunshot victim. The victim was shot in the head and did not survive.
Law enforcement was able to apprehend the suspect and recovered a firearm in the ditch.
On Wednesday, authorities identified the fatally injured victim as Jerome Skluzacek, 55, of New London.
The Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office said in the news release that the injured victim, identified as Peter Mayerchak, 25, of Lake Lillian, was in stable condition and expected to survive.
The news release also identified the suspect as 25-year-old Ameer Musa Matariyeh of Minneapolis.
Matariyeh was booked into the Kandiyohi County jail Tuesday and charged with murder and attempted murder on Thursday.