A Police Shooting Inside a Minnesota City Hall Was Caught on Tape

Updated | Minnesotans spending Monday night watching a New Hope city council hearing got more drama than they anticipated when a gunfight between a man and police officers interrupted the broadcast.

Fifteen minutes after the start of a routine city council meeting, an adult male entered city hall and fired at police officers, injuring two. The police shot back and killed the suspect.

The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's office identified the suspect as Raymond Kenneth Kmetz in a press release Tuesday, saying he died "from multiple gunshot wounds."

It was a scene more fitting for Fargo than the biweekly meetings in New Hope, which has a population of 21,000 and is situated about nine miles northwest of Minneapolis. The city hall, a two-story brick building, also houses the local police department, on a level below the council chambers.

A local television station regularly broadcasts the council meetings on air and online, and footage from last night's spread quickly. Video from inside council chambers shows city manager Kirk McDonald speaking about a resolution, followed by the sound of seven or so shots fired in rapid succession. Then councilman John Elder, who is a public information officer for the Minneapolis Police Department shouts an expletive and, "Get down, get down, everybody get down."

"That went right through the door," the city manager is heard saying.

Elder repeats, "Get down, everyone get down." The video shows Elder sitting behind a table, panting and gripping a handgun with two hands. Then he says, "If this is being taped, go to commercial, go away from this." The sound cuts out, though in versions now online, the video feed remains, showing a female officer entering the room with her gun drawn and looking around.

Records show that Kmetz, 68, who lived 40 miles away in Belle Plaine, Minnesota, had a history with New Hope police. In 2009, he was arrested for "making felony terroristic threats" and police knew he "had a history of threatening violence towards others," according to a court document. Kmetz later filed an action against five officers for assault, battery and using excessive force. A judge ruled in favor of the officers.

In April 2013, Kmetz's son Nathan Kmetz wrote on a law website that the county had committed his father to a mental health facility. "My father is NOT mentally ill...Although he may be somewhat difficult to interact with because of his persistence and rigidity, I believe his difficulties are resultant from the combination of an adjustment disorder and his personality," wrote Nathan, who confirmed to Newsweek that he was the author of the post.

Kmetz, the suspect, appeared at a city council meeting in August 2014, where he "alleged he was mistreated by the city attorney and police department," according to meeting minutes. The video from that meeting is online.

According to the planned agenda, Monday's council meeting began with honoring someone for years of service with a local human rights organization, followed by a swearing in ceremony for two police officers. It appears that the council had moved into approving business licenses, financial claims and resolutions when the shooting happened.

A message on the city's website Tuesday says, "New Hope City Hall is closed due to the shooting incident that occurred on Monday evening, January 26. The Hennepin County Sheriff's Office is conducting an investigation of the incident."

The sheriff's office initially did not identify the two officers who were shot, but said in a press release that they were transported to a local hospital and "are both expected to survive their injuries." That hospital, the local police department tells Newsweek, is North Memorial Medical Center.

Local media reported Tuesday that Joshua Eernisse was one of the officers injured. The council meeting agenda shows that Eernisse was to be sworn in the night of the shooting.

In a press briefing late Monday night, the Chief Deputy Mike Carlson from the sheriff's office told reporters that investigators were not seeking additional suspects.

Monday night's meeting is not available on the TV station's website, though Corey Bork, an assignment editor and producer, says generally those meetings are available online the day after the meetings, so the station likely pulled it.

Bork says the station employee monitoring the feed was told to cut to a pre-set message that states, "Council meeting goes to recess." The council videos, Bork adds, are property of the city.