WINONA, Minn. – The chief Winona law enforcement officials apologized for a false alert about an “an active shooter.” Police Chief Tom Williams and Sheriff Ron Ganrude promised to review procedures that went awry after a stabbing at a West End shop. There was no active shooter. Their joint statement:
“Emergency alerts are sent out by the Winona County sheriff’s office at the request of law enforcement agencies. During this incident, Winona police requested a ‘shelter in place’ but due to multiple alert platforms being utilized, several messages went out and caused some confusion. In addition, a different alert platform not utilized by law enforcement mistakenly sent a message regarding an ‘active shooter.’ We apologize for the confusion caused by the emergency alert systems in this case.”

Ganrude. Sheriff since 2015.

Williams. Chief since 2020.