In what Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton calls a "terrible, senseless murder," a police officer was shot dead in a St. Cloud hospital room by a suspect who grabbed his gun, authorities say. The suspect, 50-year-old Danny Leroy Hammond, was subdued by a stun gun by another officer and died at the scene, reports the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Police say Hammond, who wasn't handcuffed, was in the hospital for medical reasons and the officer was there to monitor him because of a domestic violence incident last week. KARE 11 reports that there was an arrest warrant out for Hammond over the incident, which included "kidnapping, assault, terroristic threats, and other violent offenses."
Police are trying to determine how the struggle for the weapon began. "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," a police spokesman said at a press conference Sunday, per the AP. "After he was taken into custody he became unresponsive. Medical personnel performed lifesaving operations on him and he died at that time." The deputy was identified as 60-year-old Steven Sandberg, who had been with the sheriff's office for nearly 25 years. Dozens of police vehicles joined a motorcade escorting a hearse with his body from the hospital, the Star Tribune reports. (More Minnesota stories.)
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