Man dead after hourslong standoff ends with shots in Duluth

DULUTH, Minn. (AP) — A man who refused to surrender to Duluth police during a roughly 20-hour standoff is dead after shots were fired, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said.

In a tweet at about 6 p.m., the BCA called the incident an officer-involved shooting and said the man, who had earlier shot and killed a police dog, was dead. But the BCA did not specify whether the man had actually been hit by law enforcement gunfire.

The standoff began at about 8:30 p.m. Thursday after police responded to a report of a physical domestic assault. Duluth Police Department spokeswoman Ingrid Hornibrook said officers were warned that a man inside had felony warrants and was refusing to surrender. Officers were able to get a woman out to safety.

Officers sent in the police dog, Luna, but the man began shooting and Luna was hit. Officers returned fire, backed away and set up a perimeter. Luna was taken to an emergency veterinary clinic and died, police said.

The Star Tribune reported the sound of gunshots was heard before 5 p.m. Friday and a vehicle from the BCA moved in.

Luna was a 3-year-old female Dutch Shepherd, whose specialties included narcotics detection, searches and tracking, according to the Northland K-9 Foundation.

She is the second police dog Duluth police have lost in the line of duty in about two years, and it is the second time this week that a police dog in Minnesota has been hit by gunfire. Bravo, a member of the Anoka Police Department, survived being shot Sunday by a carjacking suspect during a pursuit that started in Blaine and ended after 40 miles near Braham. Police shot and killed one suspect, while the other was captured and charged.