BCA Releases More Information About Officer Involved Shooting in Benton County

(KNSI) — The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is releasing more information about an officer-involved shooting in Benton County on October 12th.

According to the BCA, five officers were met with gunfire while serving a drug-related search warrant at the Glendorado Township home of 64-year-old Karl Holmberg. Three officers suffered gunshot wounds. Two of them have been released from the hospital. One remains hospitalized. Two were hit in their vests and were treated and released.

Two officers fired back. They are a Sherburne County sheriff’s deputy on the Sherburne County Drug Task Force and who works in an undercover capacity. They fired their rifle. The other is a Benton County deputy with eight years of law enforcement experience and fired their pistol. A
Sherburne County Patrol Sergeant, who also has eight years of law enforcement experience, fired a less-lethal round to get Holmberg into custody.

All three are on standard administrative leave.

Karl Holmberg is charged with six counts of attempted first-degree murder and six counts of first-degree assault in the case.

According to the criminal complaint, several Sherburne County Drug Task Force members arrived at the home just after 7:00 a.m. to serve a knock and announce search warrant. Benton County Sheriff Troy Heck says officers gave Holmberg plenty of time to come to the door, but he did not, so six officers went inside to get him and were met with gunfire. They retreated and called in negotiators.

Holmberg surrendered several hours later.

Court documents say Holmberg’s wife told police she woke up to her husband saying “they” were here. She said she checked a monitor inside the bedroom showing the outside of the house where she saw the police. Holmberg told her it was his day to die and had multiple guns on the bed before she heard the door being kicked in. She said her husband kept muttering something to the effect of “don’t do it” before shooting “blindly” through their bedroom door with a military-style rifle. She said Holmberg asked her to join the fight and, when she refused, called her a coward.

In a sworn statement, Holmberg told officers he knew they were there but felt they didn’t have the right to be and told them to leave. When the officers approached the bedroom door, he shot them with a .223 rifle.

Investigators say they found ten firearms, ammunition and cartridge casings at the scene. The officers were wearing body cameras. The BCA is reviewing all available videos. Once the investigation is complete, the BCA will present its findings to the Benton County Attorney’s Office for review.

Among the conditions of his bail include not consuming alcohol or drugs, submitting to random drug testing, not leaving the state of Minnesota and not possessing any weapons. Unconditional bail was set at $6 million.

Holmberg is due back in court on October 24th.

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