Federal authorities said Thursday that a woman’s “illegal hoarding” led to a man possessing a high-powered firearm that he used to kill three first responders during a standoff at a home with seven children in Minnesota. .
According to court documents, the guns Ashley Ann Dyrdahl purchased included three AR-style semi-automatic rifles, including one with a device that doubles the rate of fire, and two semi-automatic pistols. That’s what it means. Investigators also found “a fully stocked stockpile of magazines and boxes containing several hundred additional rounds of ammunition” in a bedroom shared by Dyrdahl and gunman Shannon Gooden, the indictment says. Stated.
Ashley Ann Dyrdahl, 35, of Burnsville, conspired with Gooden even though she knew Gooden was a convicted felon and could not legally own a gun. U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Lugar said at a news conference.
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Luger, who described the woman as Gooden’s “long-time domestic partner,” said: “Her illegal purchase of Gooden shows a reprehensible disregard for public safety and the law, and this public The consequences of this disregard for safety are beyond comprehension.” ”
Dyrdal was charged with one count of conspiracy and five counts of making false statements when purchasing a firearm. Lugar said the charge could carry a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison.
She is scheduled to make her first appearance in federal court Thursday afternoon, but is not in custody and prosecutors did not plan to seek her jail time. Katherine Loh, Minnesota’s chief federal defender, said Dyrdahl will have a lawyer on duty at her first court appearance, but her office likely won’t decide whether to represent her in future cases until Friday. He said it would be. The phone number listed under Dyrdhar’s name is no longer in use. A message was left for a man believed to be her father.
Police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Rouge, both 27, and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth, 40, were killed in the Feb. 18 crash in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville. was murdered. Their memorial service two weeks ago drew thousands of law enforcement officers, firefighters and emergency personnel. Sergeant Adam Medlicott, 38, survived being shot while treating a wounded man.
Investigators said Gooden, 38, opened fire without warning after a lengthy negotiation, then killed himself.
Ruger said Dyrdahl purchased five weapons for Gooden from two licensed dealers, including the weapon used to kill three first responders. Weapons included his AR-style rifle and Glock semi-automatic pistol. One of his rifles had a “binary” trigger, which doubled his rate of fire.
Minnesota Attorney Andrew Lugar speaks at a news conference Thursday, March 14, 2024 in Minneapolis, saying he was the straw purchaser of the gun used to kill three first responders at a home in the Minneapolis suburb of Burnsville in February. announced charges against the suspect. . (AP Photo/Steve Karnowski)
According to the indictment, between September and January, she repeatedly visited gun stores at Gooden’s direction to pick up specific guns Gooden wanted, including the two AR-style rifles used in the shootings. is said to have been purchased or picked up. According to her indictment, she signed a document falsely certifying that she did not intend to transfer the gun to a felon.
Court records show Gooden is not legally allowed to own a gun due to a 2007 felony assault conviction and has been embroiled in a years-long dispute over his three older children. It has become clear that The children in the house ranged in age from 2 to 15 years old.
Dyrdahl warned Gooden in a text message that “you need to make sure you’re smart about all of this,” according to the indictment.
During a second interaction last September, she asked him how he liked the new Glock 47 9mm semi-automatic handgun he had just bought.
“He responded by sending her a video of him loading an extended magazine into a Glock 47,” Ruger said. she replied with a smiling heart emoji.
As evidence that Mr. Dyrdahl knew Mr. Gooden could not legally possess a firearm, Mr. Luger and his colleagues said that Mr. Dyrdahl unsuccessfully petitioned the court in 2020 to have his gun rights reinstated. , cited a letter Mr. Dyrdal wrote on his behalf. She said “family is everything” to Gooden. Dakota County Attorney Kathryn Keena said she wanted to protect his home, but it was his children who needed protection.
“Mr. Dyrdahl possessed a firearm because his selfless actions to protect children ultimately resulted in the murder of three of Dakota County’s finest and the injury of another. ” Keena said.
Many details about what exactly happened and why it happened remain unknown. Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Enforcement Director Drew Evans, who is leading the investigation, said full details of the case will be released after the investigation is complete.
Police responded to Gooden’s home around 1:50 a.m., the department said. Gooden refused to leave, but said he was unarmed and there were children inside. Officers went inside and negotiated for about three and a half hours trying to get him to surrender. But just before 5:30 a.m., Gooden opened fire on officers inside without warning, the department said.
Police said Elmstrand, Rouge and Medlicott appeared to have been shot initially inside the home. Medlicott and another officer (who was not injured) returned fire from inside the house, injuring Gooden in the leg.
Rouge and Medlicott were shot a second time as officers walked to an armored vehicle in their driveway, the department said. Finseth, who was assigned to a SWAT team, was shot and killed while trying to help officers. Mr. Elmstrand, Mr. Rouge, and Mr. Finseth were pronounced dead at the hospital.
The department said Gooden fired more than 100 shots before killing himself. Court documents filed by department officials said the initial 911 call was about “allegations of sexual assault,” but did not provide further details.
Burnsville gun store owner John McConkie told reporters late last month that one of the firearms found at the scene was partially found in his store and passed a background check. He said it had been purchased by a buyer who took possession of it on May 5th. He said authorities told him the person who picked it up was under investigation for felony straw purchasing and that Gooden was not at the scene at the time. Dyrdahl actually purchased or picked up four of the five guns there, according to the indictment.
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Gooden’s ex-girlfriend, Noemi Torres, announced this week that she testified before a federal grand jury investigating the case. She told The Associated Press on Wednesday that she was asked about her relationship with Gooden and whether Gooden could have coerced her into buying a gun. She told the grand jury she didn’t do it because she had a history of domestic violence and “was in fear for her life,” the complaint said.
