Police: Suspect arrested in Willmar after firing gun at officer

A 36-year-old man is in jail following a manhunt that began with a traffic stop in Willmar.

According to a news release from the local police department, an officer pulled over a Jeep on the 100 block of High Ave NE Saturday evening, and  as the vehicle stopped, a passenger exited and fled on foot.

Police say that the man "produced a handgun and fired one shot at the officer" as he ran from the scene:

The officer was not harmed, though the suspect escaped. With the help of a drone, an aircraft and a "remote robotic camera," police eventually tracked the man to an unattached garage in a nearby neighborhood. 

SWAT teams deployed tear gas and a vehicle-mounted ram when the suspect "refused to comply with officers," and he was ultimately arrested at about 2:30 a.m. A gun was also recovered at the scene.

The man was found to have suffered "various self-inflicted injuries" and was taken to a hospital for treatment. He was discharged Sunday and is now in custody at the Kandiyohi County Jail.

Police say the suspect, whose last known address is in Raymond, had an outstanding federal firearms warrant as well as an outstanding misdemeanor warrant from Lyon County. He's now facing new charges of second-degree assault, felon in possession of a firearm and fleeing a police officer.

Bring Me The News does not typically name suspects until they have been formally charged. 

Multiple other agencies were involved in the operation, including the Benson Police Department, the Kandiyohi County Sheriff’s Office and the Minnesota State Patrol.