APPLE VALLEY, Minn. – The weekend shooting in Apple Valley that led to the deaths of one person and one dog appears to have been a domestic situation, according to police.
Police say officers were called to a house on the 900 block of Oriole Drive at about 6:23 p.m. after a 911 caller reported “multiple people with weapons shooting at each other.”
Officers found two victims at the scene, one of whom was dead. The person who died was not identified by name but was said to be a 49-year-old woman. Police said she lived in the house.
The other victim was her 25-year-old son, who admitted to participating in the shooting. Police say he was shot twice — once in the stomach and again in the pelvis. He has been treated for his wounds and has been released from the hospital. He is now in police custody.
Police say that a dog was also found shot dead in the driveway.
Witnesses told officers that a vehicle fled the area right after the shooting. Police believe that the person who fled turned up at Ridges Hospital in Burnsville. That person — a 39-year-old man who police report was the ex-boyfriend of the woman who died in the shootings — had also been shot twice in the face and head.
He is listed in serious condition.
Apple Valley Police Chief Nick Francis said this case is unusual as the neighborhood is very quiet and they’ve never received calls about this house prior to the shooting.
“Very disturbing,” he said. “Very disturbing for the people involved. [It’s] obviously tragic. Very disturbing for the neighbors that had to witness this. There’s other houses that are damaged; fortunately nobody else was injured, but also very disturbing for our community. People want to live in a safe community. They don’t want this taking place anywhere, let alone in their neighborhood or backyard.”
The Apple Valley Police Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension are continuing to investigate.
Local Domestic Violence Resources
Women’s Advocates
www.wadvocates.org
Crisis Line: (651) 227-8284
St. Paul & Ramsey County Domestic Abuse Intervention Project
https://www.stpaulintervention.org
Crisis Line: (651) 645-2824
Minnesota Day One
www.dayoneservices.org
Crisis Line: 1-866-223-1111
Esperanza United
esperanzaunited.org
Bilingual crisis line: (651) 772-1611.
For anonymous, confidential help, people can call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233 or 1-800-787-3224.
