Kare11
Victims ID’d in shooting spree that ended near Willmar
The Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office says the man killed in what appears to be an attempted carjacking was 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London.
WILLMAR, Minn. — The Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office has identified the victims of a shooting spree that started in Minneapolis and ended near Willmar Tuesday with one man dead and another wounded.
Office spokesman Imran Ali said in a press release Wednesday that 55-year-old Jerome Skluzacek of New London was fatally shot in what investigators described as a carjacking attempt on Highway 23 near Willmar. Earlier, the suspect reportedly shot 25-year-old Peter Mayerchak at a rural home in Lake Lillian.
The alleged shooter is a 25-year-old man from Minneapolis who is currently being held in the Kandiyohi County Jail on probable cause second-degree murder. KARE 11 generally does not identify suspects until they are formally charged, a process that the sheriff’s office says will not happen on Wednesday.
Irman Ali also shared that Kandiyohi Sheriff Eric Tollefson and several of his deputies were witnesses to the fatal shooting, and will not comment on the case publicly.
“The deputies and other law enforcement officers that responded and apprehended the suspect risked their lives to protect their communities. These women and men are true heroes,” Ali wrote.
Both Minneapolis police and Kandiyohi sheriff’s officials say the incident began Tuesday around 12:30 p.m. when MPD officers were dispatched to a domestic violence call at an apartment building at 29th and Lyndale. Officers learned shots had been fired from an apartment balcony but no one was hurt. Chief Brian O’Hara told reporters that the suspect and the woman who rented the apartment had a child together who was soon located safe at a daycare in Minneapolis.
Crisis negotiators were able to reach the 25-year-old suspect by phone but were unable to convince him to surrender. They say the alleged gunman shot and wounded Mayerchak at a residence in Lake Lillian before leading law enforcement on a high-speed chase. When he got near Willmar, law enforcement said the suspect shot and killed Skluzacek in an attempted carjacking.
The teen was last seen wearing a white t-shirt and red hat, very similar to the photo.
NORTH BRANCH, Minn. — Police in North Branch are asking for the public’s help as they try and find a missing teen.
Police shared on Facebook the 14-year-old, identified just by his first name Allen, was last seen at about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Allen was last seen in the area of Forest Boulevard and 410th Street, officials said. He does not have a phone on him and it’s unknown where he may be headed.
Officials say he was wearing a white t-shirt, red hat, and blue jeans when he was last seen. Police added he has some health problems.
Anyone who knows his whereabouts is encouraged to call authorities at 651-257-4100.
The graffiti appears to be on top of an air conditioning unit on the roof.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Capitol Security in Saint Paul is looking into the graffiti that’s now on top of the Governor’s Mansion.
Sky 11 flew over the building Wednesday afternoon. The words “Walz Failed” are spray painted on top of what looks like an air conditioning unit.
The Governor’s residence is being renovated and Tim Walz has been staying at the U of M’s Eastcliff mansion since last year
The graffiti comes 13 days before the presidential election, with Walz running as the Democratic candidate for vice president. On the same day the graffiti was discovered, Walz was in Minnesota to cast his ballot early. He voted along with his son Gus, who voted for the first time.
RELATED: Walz family votes early in St. Paul
Both MPD and SPPD say they won’t compromise vetting for speed, but say they need to change other aspects of how they hire
ST PAUL, Minn. — Hiring continues to be an issue for police departments across the country over the past several years, including in the Twin Cities. In an interview Tuesday, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O’Hara voiced his frustration over the challenges they’re seeing.
That concern comes as a Minneapolis City Auditor report shows applications to the MPD are up nearly 80% this year compared to the same time last year. In 2023, the department received 693 applications.
So far this year, they’ve seen 1,125.
“The problem is, it’s not good enough,” O’Hara said. “It does not translate to the same percent increase of people that then wind up being hired, or even that wind up being investigated for us.”
“It’s a serious concern,” he added.
O’Hara said Tuesday that they’ve hired around 60 people so far this year. It may seem small, but he says it’s the highest they’ve seen in almost a decade.
The problem, O’Hara says, is that there’s a lack of qualified applicants – something that’s happening in St. Paul as well.
“We are understaffed by about 12%, you know, we struggle, like all law enforcement agencies, to fill those empty spots,” St. Paul Assistant Chief of Police Paul Ford said.
“Our academies are running about 14 folks,” he continued. “When I got hired, my academy was 40.”
The SPPD has had 166 applicants so far this year – 33 have been hired. Hiring issues are across the board, Ford says.
“We’re all kind of competing for the same candidates, which makes it more challenging,” he said.
In that Minneapolis Auditor report, different jurisdictions are examined and compared for how they hire, including the time it takes for someone to get through the entire process.
Cities like Austin, Baltimore and Seattle are listed. In Minnesota, Duluth and St. Paul are also compared. Each of those can take less time from a submitted application to the time someone would start the academy.
Many of those cities take four months – Minneapolis takes six. O’Hara says that’s a concern, as applicants sometimes simply can’t afford to wait for the longer hiring process.
While that may be the case, both O’Hara and Ford say they’re not willing to shorten their process to speed applicants through, instead opting to focus on other alternatives to ensure quality candidates.
“It’s definitely not about reducing standards. It’s about creating pathways and processes that are simpler and shorter, and more compact to get the same type of candidates and the same result in the end,” Ford said.
“It needs to change with the times. It’s essentially the same system that was in place when I was hired in 1998 with the St. Paul Police Department,” Ford continued. “And I think we can do it, we just have to have the will to do it.”
That includes multiple programs that focus on applicant retention. O’Hara says they need to do better in reassuring applicants that they’re still candidates.
Ford says an option could be hiring those who have a degree that isn’t in law enforcement. Both SPPD and MPD participate in the Intensive Comprehensive Peace Officer Education and Training Program, or ICPOET, through the Minnesota Department of Public Safety.
ICPOET trains those with degrees outside of law enforcement, looking to transition into the field. SPPD has two currently in the program, and MPD has one.
Others also agree that the process needs to change, including those working with their communities and police departments. Lisa Clemons of A Mother’s Love says she’d like to see more done to extend training to let new hires work with different organizations.
“By a month or so, so that they can be in community for a whole month with different organizations,” Clemons said. “But the timeline doesn’t shock me, but there’s an immediacy for us to have cops out here in community. They just have to be the right cops.”
