Man treated in a hospital grabs officer’s gun, kills him

Published 10:20 am Monday, October 19, 2015

ST. CLOUD — A suspect in a domestic incident who was being treated at a Minnesota hospital grabbed a gun from a sheriff’s deputy and killed the officer early Sunday, prompting hospital security officers to subdue the suspect with a stun gun, authorities said.

After the suspect was taken into custody he died, despite efforts by medical personnel to revive him.

The struggle happened early Sunday at St. Cloud Hospital in the suspect’s room, said Drew Evans, superintendent of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension. He said the suspect was not handcuffed at the time. Investigators are still trying to determine what led up to the shooting.

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“Several shots were fired during that struggle and then security officers were able to get into the room, and the suspect was tased with a Taser, and taken into custody,” Evans said at a news conference. “After he was taken into custody he became unresponsive. Medical personnel performed lifesaving operations on him and he died at that time.”

Evans said the Aitkin County deputy killed was Steven Martin Sandberg, a 60-year-old investigator with the sheriff’s office. The suspect was identified as Danny Leroy Hammond, 50, who lived near the city of Aitkin. Evans said autopsies were being performed on both of them and the medical examiner would determine more about how the suspect died.