1 Killed After Woman Held Hostage On Mendota Bridge: Police

MENDOTA HEIGHTS, MN — Police say a man was shot and killed during a hostage situation on the Mendota Bridge Monday. The man was holding a woman at gunpoint when he was killed, police said.

On July 13 at 12:45 a.m., Chaska police officers and Carver County deputies responded to a "disturbance" on Yellow Brick Circle in Chaska. A man was threatening to shoot a woman inside the house, according to investigators.

The man fled, taking the woman in a car and leading police on a highway chase.

Chaska officers, Carver County deputies, and other law enforcement agencies pursued the vehicle until it was stopped on the Mendota Bridge — which carries Highway 55 and Highway 62 — due to tire-deflating spikes.

The bridge was shut down for several hours.

Negotiators from the Tri-City Tactical Team made "extensive efforts to negotiate and de-escalate the situation to persuade the suspect to voluntarily surrender, but these efforts were unsuccessful," according to a news release.

The man continued to hold the woman hostage until he was shot and killed by a Carver County deputy, police said. The woman was emotionally distraught, but did not suffer "serious injury" during the incident, according to authorities.

"In this situation, the suspect created a dangerous situation for the female victim, motorists, other people in that area, and law enforcement," the Carver County Sheriff's Office and the Chaska Police Department said in a news release.

The deputy is on administrative leave. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigating this incident.