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Crime, Law and Justice
Matt Sepic
Minneapolis

Police say suspect shot '20 to 22 rounds' amid standoff

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Authorities in southeastern Minnesota say a Pine Island man fired “20 to 22 rounds” at police during a daylong standoff on Saturday that ended with his surrender.

Olmsted County prosecutors on Tuesday charged Michael Steven Molitor, 37, with four felony counts, including using deadly force against police, assault with a weapon, making terroristic threats and wearing a bullet resistant vest during the commission of a crime.

According to the criminal complaint, a Goodhue County sheriff's deputy went to a Pine Island home just before 11 a.m. Saturday for a wellness check after a 911 caller said Molitor threatened "suicide by cop." Prosecutors say a 911 caller relayed similar concerns about Molitor on Friday.

In a call that Molitor made to police Saturday morning, he allegedly told the dispatcher that he was holding a female hostage inside his house and asked what officers were going to do.

After the dispatcher transferred the call to the deputy, Molitor allegedly said “I plan on dying today,” and said that he had multiple weapons.

After a SWAT team arrived, authorities say Molitor appeared in his garage wearing body armor, carrying an AR-15 rifle, and drinking beer. After Molitor stopped responding to phone calls from negotiators, police brought in additional armored vehicles and “began formalizing a plan to deliver chemical munitions in the residence,” according to prosecutors.

Around 7:30 p.m., after police deployed a “diversionary flash bang” at the front of his home, Molitor emerged still wearing body armor and carrying a rifle before going back inside.

Police then used an armored vehicle to break a window before deploying tear gas into the rear of the house. As officers released the chemicals, Molitor allegedly fired “20 to 22 rounds” at police in two volleys, and struck an armored vehicle that an officer was using for cover.

Molitor eventually exited his garage, but investigators say he continued to defy police commands. He surrendered after an officer fired pepper ball rounds. Police searched the home and found no one else inside.

Molitor has no criminal record in Minnesota, but civil case records show that in 2016, former Rice County Sheriff Troy Dunn petitioned a judge to revoke Molitor’s permit to carry a pistol “on the grounds that there exists a substantial likelihood that [Molitor] is a danger to self or the public.”

The petition does not include any other details. The records do not indicate whether the court revoked Molitor’s gun permit. Information about firearms permits in Minnesota is considered private under the state’s Data Practices Act.