ROCHESTER, Minn. – An armed man who held police at bay four hours from a minivan van at a shopping mall died of a bullet wound that police said was self-inflicted. Whether the shot was intentional or accidental was not immediately determined, Police Chief Jimi Franklin said. In either event, the confrontation ended about 6 p.m. outside the KAAL television station and a strip mall dominated by a TJ Maxx store – just west across Highway 52 from Apache Mall. Police did not release man’s name immediately. The day was confusing. Television station KSTP in St. Paul received a call about 9:30 a.m. from a man saying he would kill himself at East Park in Rochester. Why he called a St. Paul station was unclear. There were calls to other newsrooms as the morning progressed. Police, meanwhile, found nothing at East Park. About 2 p.m., a maroon minivan pulled into the KAAL parking lot, followed by police. Police pinned in the vehicle in a blockade. The station and nearby stores were put on lockdown. Customers were told that the man in the minivan was in crisis and had threatened to kill himself and to shoot anyone who approached. Police negotiators were unable to convince the man to come out of the vehicle Several times during the afternoon the man stood up through a sunroof and pointed a gun to his head. At one point a gun was fired inside the vehicle, and the man was believed to be ingesting drugs. About 6 p.m., police fired a non-lethal flash gun toward the vehicle and launched tear gas. The man fired back twice. No officers were hit. Police then fired irritant-loaded pepperballs. The scene turned silent. Police approached the man’s van and found him dead. Police Chief Jimi Franklin ordered the site be impounded pending an investigation by the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension.
