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How the Burnsville shooter got custody of surviving children
Officers went inside the house of Shannon Gooden to try to get seven children out and convince Gooden to surrender.
BURNSVILLE, Minn. — Shannon Gooden spent a lot of time in the Minnesota court system to ensure his five kids would spend as much time with him as possible.
“The only thing I have to say is the court system failed my children,” said Noemi Torres, who feels let down by the court system that put her kids primarily in the care of Gooden — the man who killed police officers Paul Elmstrand, Matthew Rugge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth.
“I felt super lost (in the legal system.) I felt like I didn’t have a voice. They say Minnesota is a ‘woman’s state’ and I was like, ‘Where?'” Torres said.
Torres dated Gooden from 2007 to 2016. She is the mother of three of Gooden’s children. Gooden also had two kids with his girlfriend he started dating in 2016 — and that woman had two kids from a prior relationship.
Gooden’s custody fights actually started with the girlfriend who lived with him, the one who made the 911 call to bring Burnsville police there 10 days ago.
Court documents indicate that in 2017, they broke up for a period of time and Gooden filed for full custody after Torres was arrested for DWI with the kids in the car. The judge’s order says Gooden and the woman agreed it was in the child’s best interest for Gooden to receive full custody. The couple reunited sometime after that.
Noemi had full custody of her kids for four years after she and Gooden broke up. But in 2020, he filed a petition for sole custody.
“The way he made it seem or portrayed to the world is he’s this perfect person and he’s living the life and he just made it seem like everything in his life is perfect,” Torres said.
Gooden claimed Noemi was “leaving the children unattended at all hours of the night/day,” which was something she contested at the custody trial.
Torres didn’t have a lawyer and Gooden did. She agreed to joint custody, but Gooden wanted more.
Court documents show Gooden had a high-paying stable job, and that Noemi lived a distance away in Saint Paul with less reliable transportation. Gooden also raised concern about her history of depression and marijuana use.
“He got tested, then I got tested… and clearly, I smoke weed, so it’s going to come up,” she said.
But Torres still thought the judge would see Gooden’s issues were worse than hers.
“He was controlling; he was all the umbrella of being a domestic violence individual,” Torres said.
Torres and the other mother of Gooden’s children each separately filed domestic violence petitions for orders for protection against Gooden, but both were denied.
However, his conviction for a felony assault in 2008 banned him from having guns, a fact not noted by the custody judge.
“They still felt like he was a better fit. Even with domestic violence. Police being called,” Torres said.
Judge Mark Ireland wrote Noemi’s life was less stable and Gooden was in a better position to provide for the kids’ needs.
The judge awarded joint custody, making the kids’ primary home with Gooden, for stability during the school year.
Noemi says that was a huge mistake. And now her kids are recovering from severe trauma from the shooting their father carried out.
“Just trying to get them mental health, get them as much help as possible,” Torres said.
Noemi now has custody of her children and very soon the case at Ramsey County Court is expected to be closed for good.
Torres has a GoFundMe page set up to help support her children.
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Palma Delights was one of 40 vendors featured at the Field and Festival Holiday Market.
MINNEAPOLIS — At the Field and Festival Holiday Market in Minneapolis, flavors from around the world are on display. This holiday season, Palma Delights founder and owner Alyaa Sonbol is bringing a taste of the Middle East to Minnesota.
“All of these [desserts] are based off of my background, which I’m very proud of because it brought me to thinking of this and coming up with this idea,” Sonbol said. The full-time architect and mother of two moved to the United States from Egypt at 11 years old.
Sonbol’s vendor stall is filled with a variety of vegan and gluten-free chocolate-covered desserts, which she creates in her home kitchen using various ingredients such as dates, figs and various nuts.
Working around the clock to bring her business to life, Sonbol officially created Palma Delights six months ago. “When it got to my own health, I had to figure something out for myself.”
Sonbol navigates life with an autoimmune disorder. “It is very challenging, to be honest,” she said. “I myself don’t even know what to eat sometimes.”
Knowing others suffer from the same challenges, Sonbol set out on a mission to make sweets that are safe to consume for people with auto-immune diseases. “We like to have our sweet tooth like everybody else,” she chuckled.
Palma Delights was one of 40 vendors featured at Sunday’s market.
“For me, the most rewarding part is just to see that journey for those people, knowing that we’re providing real economic impact for not just the artists, but the whole community,” said Minneapolis Craft Market founder Hayley Matthews-Jones.
Originally from London, Matthews-Jones moved to Minnesota in 2008 and founded Minneapolis Craft Market in 2015.
“I was here for a few years and kind of looking for that weekly artist market type of outlet that is so common in London and most of Europe,” she explained. “I kind of spent a while waiting for someone else to build that, and when no one did, I figured, ‘I know what this should look like.'”
Nearly a decade later, Minneapolis Craft Market now hosts various markets around the Twin Cities. From soaps to jewelry, hats, crafts and beyond, these markets are ensuring the holiday spirit is alive in Minneapolis. “I love it,” Sonbol said. “Serving people is always a good thing for me.”
The Galaxy are favored to win, but Loons fans told KARE 11 to never underestimate the underdogs.
MINNEAPOLIS — Minnesota United fans packed Brit’s Pub to watch the Loons take on the L.A. Galaxy in the semifinals.
The Galaxy are favored to win, but Loons fans told KARE 11 to never underestimate the underdogs.
“I think as things are lining up in this MLS Cup some of the underdogs are winning games if you look across the East none of those top seeds are in it anymore,” said James Mitchell.
He said if Minnesota beats Los Angeles they would play Seattle next, giving them an opportunity to try and beat Seattle in their house. He said if all goes well there’s a change the Loons could host a home cup final in December.
Mikaela Bush has been cheering this team on since 2017. She went to the inaugural game with her dad and remembers the snow and the loss.
Bush has loved watching this team grow over the years and loves all of the volunteering the players do in the community. She’s proud her team has made it this far.
“We didn’t have a coach in the beginning of the season, there’s been player changes, so just starting from the home opener in March to where we are not it’s night and day,” Bush said.
Ellen Livscheets said watching the Loons play is electric, especially at Brit’s Pub.
“Watching them play in this pub house is so much fun is so much fun the energy is insane, and Minnesota fans are always Minnesota fans, and they come through even in the bad times and the good,” she said. “I just love this team so much, and they deserve a win after everything they’ve been through.”
Now all children entering an SPPS Pre-K classroom can opt-in to a college savings account.
ST PAUL, Minn. — Four years ago, St. Paul put $50 into college savings accounts for children born after January 1, 2020. Now, that program is expanding as those kids reach school age.
“We are sending our young people a clear message,” said Mayor Melvin Carter during the launch event on Saturday morning. “We believe in you enough to invest in you.”
Community partners joined Carter to launch CollegeBound Elementary, an extension of the Collegebound initiative, at Bremer Bank’s Midway location. The program expands the program eligibility, allowing all families with children entering a St. Paul Public School Pre-K classroom to opt-in to a college savings account regardless of address or birth year.
The launch event doubled as the program’s first Family Deposit Day, where families who contributed to savings accounts earned a $25 bonus.
According to a press release, over 14,000 children have been enrolled in these starting-at-birth savings accounts that have accumulated more than $3 million to date. CollegeBound Elementary will also give students opportunities to engage in activities in and out of classrooms, earning up to $350 in additional bonuses, as well as access to educational tools centered on wealth justice.
“This program is really about hope,” one parent of a CollegeBound child said. “Every time we come and save money, we are injecting hope into Malachi’s future.”
The City says that the Financial Empowerment has been working with St. Paul Public Schools since 2022 to help instill post-high school aspirations for CollegeBound children as soon as they reach school age.
Bremer Bank has been the City of St. Paul’s financial partner for this program since its inception.
“Bremer has been the proud financial partner of CollegeBound Saint Paul since its inception, and the tremendous growth of the program is inspirational. This pioneering program is helping to improve access to higher education for families across this community,” said Bremer President and CEO Jeanne Crain in a release.
St. Paul plans to expand CollegeBound Elementary to charter, private, and home schools within the city in future years.
