Sheriff’s Department eyeing 2 suspects in Lansing Corners shooting
Published 9:40 am Friday, December 7, 2012
The Mower County Sheriff’s Department hasn’t arrested anybody from a Nov. 10 party that left five people shot near Lansing, but investigators are honing their sights on two suspects.
Mower County Chief Deputy Mark May said investigators are trying to pull DNA from evidence and match it to one suspect while positively identifying another suspect from witnesses.
“At this point, we’re still waiting,” May said.
The shooting happened at about midnight Saturday, Nov. 10, north of Austin at Lansing Corners Event Center when a hip hop event hosted by Kings of Africa ended, and people moved to the parking lot. Hundreds of people were reportedly at the event, advertised as “KOA Presents: E-Man’s 18th B-Day Bash” — an 18-and-older, alcohol-free party. Still, many minors indicated via Facebook they would attend the party, and deputies reported seeing liquor strewn about the parking lot.
The shooting is gang related, according to the sheriff’s department. Alleged suspects, victims and attendees of the event have remained silent throughout the investigation for fear of retaliation. The five victims have been released from the hospital.
Sheriff Terese Amazi confirmed weeks ago that two weapons are involved. May added one suspect lives out of state, while the other is from Minnesota.
The Mower County Board also briefly discussed the issue at its meeting this Tuesday with regards to Lansing Corners owner Dave Olson’s conditional use permit.
“People were curious if something should be done differently,” said Commissioner Tony Bennett.
Bennett said some questions were raised about parking at Lansing Corners; however, he added it is common for businesses to have slight discrepancies between their property layouts and conditional use permits. He does not know if the issue — if there indeed is one — will arise at future board meetings.
“In the end, I don’t think a piece of paper is going to stop somebody from pulling a gun,” he said.