WOODBURY, Minn. (KMSP) -
One person is dead and one person is in police custody after a SWAT standoff at the Red Roof Inn motel in Woodbury, Minn. early Friday morning.
At 1:10 a.m., Woodbury police responded to the Red Roof Inn at 1806 Wooddale Drive for a 911 call and found a disturbance in one of the motel rooms. Police said 12 people were in the room, including nine people being held against their will.
As officers were investigating, a shot was fired and three officers returned gunfire. A 19-year-old suffered multiple gunshot wounds in the exchange, though officials later said they believe he had been a hostage trying to escape.
Police identified the victim as Mark Eric Henderson, and confirmed he was not armed when he was shot. He was taken to Regions Hospital, where he later died.
Shortly before 5 a.m. the Washington County SWAT Team took one suspect into custody. Others inside the motel room were being interviewed Friday morning. No officers were injured during the initial shooting incident, but one SWAT officer was treated for a minor injury during the tactical operation.
The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is conducting the investigation, and they announced that Demitrius Ballinger, of Maplewood, was arrested on charges of criminal sexual conduct, kidnapping, and aggravated robbery.
"We did take a suspect into custody, and numerous other people I would describe as witnesses, subjects, suspects," said Woodbury Police Chief Lee Vague. "There was a lot of criminal activity going on inside that motel room -- serious criminal activity. We know people were assaulted."
Friday morning's incident is apparently the culmination of ongoing criminal activity at the motel.
The identity of the police officers involved will not be released until after they are interviewed by the BCA. All three officers will be placed on paid administrative leave, as is standard practice in police involved shooting incidents.
This is the first officer-involved shooting in Woodbury in two years.
