Elk River Man Found Incompetent to Stand Trial in Government Center Attack

(KNSI) – A 51-year-old Elk River man accused of shooting his way into the Sherburne County Government Center this summer has been found incompetent to stand trial.

Three days after the July 19 attack, Zha Kong Vang was ordered to undergo a psychiatric assessment to determine his mental competency and whether he understands the legal proceedings and can assist in his own defense. The doctor submitted a report, and the court has ordered Vang to meet with a team from the county Health and Human Services Department to screen for a possible civil commitment.

He is due back in court for a review on October 20th.

According to the criminal complaint, Vang shot out the glass on an entrance door around 9:00 a.m. on July 19th to get inside the building. Video surveillance shows him walking around with a gun and a machete in a sheath around his waist, and unsuccessfully trying to open locked doors to both the court wing and the sheriff’s office. After failing to access the restricted areas, Vang left the building and fired another shot toward the county’s maintenance building before terrorizing people in the parking lot.

Investigators say he first approached a car where a woman was sitting with her child, using the barrel and butt of his gun, trying to smash the passenger side window. The woman was able to put her car in gear and fled. She later told police she believed they were about to die. Vang then stabbed a tire on a county van with the machete, causing it to go flat, before approaching another vehicle at the government center. The man told police he looked up to see Vang holding a machete and jabbed it through a half-open window toward his face, but he, too, was able to get away.

Deputies arrived on scene around that time and ordered Vang to drop his weapon multiple times. He eventually set the gun down and surrendered.

Vang was charged with first-degree burglary, possession of a dangerous weapon in a courthouse, three counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, and first-degree criminal damage to property.

No reason was given for Vang’s violent outburst, but he’s no stranger to law enforcement.

In August 2024, he was charged with two counts of second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon for allegedly threatening two people with a gun in Big Lake. At the time, police found him in possession of methamphetamine. That case is still making its way through the courts.

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