EDEN PRAIRIE, Minn. (AP) - A man and a woman involved in a high-speed chase during the Friday morning rush hour were killed in an officer-involved shooting that shut down a major highway in the Twin Cities area for hours, authorities said.
Four officers who fired their weapons were placed on leave after the shooting along Highway 212, State Patrol Lt. Eric Roeske said. No officers were injured. The highway was reopened in both directions at about 5 p.m., according to a tweet from the Eden Prairie Police Department.
Few details were released Friday. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said authorities got a call about 7:30 a.m. about a red Saab that was driving erratically. The Saab then was involved in a rear-end crash on Highway 212 and County Road 43 and sped away from the scene, Roeske said.
Authorities found the Saab on eastbound Highway 212 and began a pursuit which reached speeds of more than 90 mph, the bureau said. Roeske said authorities used stop sticks and other maneuvers to get the car to stop. Just before 8 a.m., the Saab crashed into a wall on the highway near Deal Road in Eden Prairie. The man and woman then got out of the car.
Roeske wouldn’t detail the circumstances of the shooting and wouldn’t say whether the man or woman were armed, citing the ongoing investigation. Their identities were not released. He said the relationship between the two hadn’t been determined.
One Minnesota State Patrol trooper, two officers from the Chaska Police Department and one Carver County sheriff’s deputy were placed on standard administrative leave after the shooting.
The driver of the vehicle involved in the rear-end crash was taken to a hospital in Waconia with injuries that weren’t life-threatening, the BCA said.
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