WINDOM, Minn. -- A report of a disturbance at a residence in the 700 block of Third Avenue in Windom led to a standoff with police Monday morning that ended more than four hours later with the discovery of a deceased 48-year-old male and an injured 52-year-old female inside the home.
The Windom Police Department issued a press release stating Cottonwood County dispatch received a call of a disturbance at the residence at approximately 8:24 a.m.
When law enforcement officers arrived on the scene, they could hear shouting coming from inside the home. Officers then tried to make entry into the house when shots were fired from within the residence.
Officers then retreated from the residence and took cover behind squad cars and piles of snow near the property. The Windom Police Department reported two rounds struck a squad car parked on the street.
A perimeter was set up around the residence, and an “emergent call for assistance” went out over the law enforcement scanner to area agencies. By 9 a.m., a request was made to barricade the streets in the area to prevent people from driving by.
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Blizzard conditions, with drifting snow and partially blocked roadways, hampered efforts of responders from outside of Windom. The HEAT (High Risk Entry and Arrest Team) was called in from Jackson County, and help also came from the Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Cottonwood County Sheriff’s Office.
At approximately 12:36 p.m., the HEAT Team made entry into the residence, where it found the deceased male and injured female, who was transported to the Windom Area Hospital for treatment of injuries.
Several businesses, including a bank, did not open Monday morning in Windom. It isn’t known if their closures were due to the armed standoff, or because of weather conditions.
