Burnsville to honor slain first responders with Public Safety Memorial Day
BURNSVILLE, Minn. — The city of Burnsville will honor three fallen first responders on Tuesday, which will mark one year since they were killed by a gunman during a standoff.
Investigators say Shannon Gooden shot police officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth on Feb. 18, 2024.
To mark the year since their deaths, Burnsville Mayor Elizabeth Kautz made Feb. 18 Public Safety Memorial Day. Three wreaths will go up at Burnsville City Hall for 24 hours, all city buildings will be lit in blue and red and the city's flag will fly at half-mast for the day.
The City Council and other leaders will make a public statement at City Hall at 2 p.m. as well.
A reported sexual assault brought Ruge, Elmstrand, Finseth and other first responders to Gooden's residence last February. During an hourslong standoff, Gooden fired more than 100 rounds at authorities, according to investigators. In addition to the three responders killed, he struck Sgt. Adam Medlicott, who survived his wounds. Gooden then fatally shot himself, according to the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
Gooden was barred from owning weapons due to a 2008 assault conviction in Dakota County. In January, his on-again, off-again girlfriend Ashley Dyrdahl pleaded guilty to illegally buying weapons for him.
Note: The video above originally aired Jan. 14, 2025.
In addition, help is available from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, or NAMI. Call the NAMI Helpline at 800-950-6264 or text "HelpLine" to 62640. There are more than 600 local NAMI organizations and affiliates across the country, many of which offer free support and education programs.
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Reporters Elena Perry, Thomas Clouse, Emry Dinman and Corbin Vanderby contributed to this report. Elena Perry's work is funded in part by members of the Spokane community via the Community Journalism and Civic Engagement Fund. This story can be republished by other organizations for free under a Creative Commons license. For more information on this, please contact our newspaper's managing editor.
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