HAYWARD – The man suspected of robbing Americana National Bank in Hayward on Monday died after being shot by law officers in Dakota County.

Tuesday, September 12, 2000

HAYWARD – The man suspected of robbing Americana National Bank in Hayward on Monday died after being shot by law officers in Dakota County.

Walter James Kangas, 52, was shot while resisting arrest in Dakota County. A plastic grocery bag full of cash believed to have been stolen from the bank was recovered from his vehicle.

Kangas likely was making his way home in a stolen GMC S10 pickup using two-lane roads between Hayward and New Brighton, Dakota County Sheriff Don Gudmundson said.

Dakota County patrols received information that the suspect was traveling north out of Northfield on Highway 3 at around 5:17 p.m.

"Two of my officers picked the vehicle up pretty quickly," Gudmundson said.

The officers flashed their lights, and Kangas slowed briefly, but did not stop. He continued at a normal rate of speed, evading stop sticks, designed to puncture vehicle tires, that a Farmington police officer had placed in the roadway.

Turning east onto Highway 50 near Farmington, Kangas pulled into a residential area. He pulled into the first driveway on the south side of the road and got out of the truck with his handgun drawn, Gudmundson said. Two officers in two separate vehicles pulled into the drive behind him.

An officer shot and missed Kangas, then shot again, hitting him in the upper torso, the sheriff said.

An ambulance was called to the scene and Kangas was transported by land, and then air, to Regents Hospital in St. Paul. He died during surgery at 8:08 p.m.

Police computers indicate that Kangas had a criminal history, but it was unclear what the charges were.

Kangas is believed to have robbed the Hayward bank shortly after 2 p.m. Monday. A man fitting his description entered the bank, showed the teller a handgun tucked in his waistband, and demanded that she give him money. The teller, the only person working at the bank, handed him money in a plastic grocery bag and he left the building.