TheeBadOne
June 8, 2003, 09:21 AM
http://www.startribune.com/stories/467/3924873.html (http://)
Owatonna officer, suspect shot and wounded after altercation in drug store
OWATONNA, MINN. -- An Owatonna police officer was shot and wounded Saturday morning in a gunfight with a man inside a drug store.
Officer Joel Welinski was hit in the arm and leg. He was flown to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, where he was in fair condition.
The gunman, described by police as a 38-year-old man who lives in the area, also was flown to St. Marys and was in serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said Saturday night.
Police said a man carrying a black bag walked into Sterling Drug and demanded antibiotics minutes after the store opened at 8:30 a.m. He did not have a prescription, and he became agitated when the pharmacist refused his request. The store manager called 911 when the man climbed over the counter.
The shooting started when Welinski arrived. The man had two handguns and a high-powered rifle, authorities said. It was not clear who fired the first shot or how many were fired.
"It was scary; I heard lots of gunshots, probably 10 or more," said Ryan Gallagher, 16, who was working at the front cash register.
Welinski, 44, has a wife and a daughter and has worked 20 years for the department in Owatonna, about 65 miles south of the Twin Cities along Interstate Hwy. 35.
Five employees and two customers were in the store when the shooting broke out. No one else was injured.
Gallagher saw the suspect walk into the store. He said the man had a folded-up bag and was nicely dressed. At first, Gallagher said, he thought the man was a drug-company representative, but then figured that reps don't usually show up at that time of day and especially on a Saturday.
A moment later, the manager came running to the front of the store, saying, "There's a strange guy in the store; something is going on, and we've just called the cops."
Welinski was the first officer to arrive; two others came within minutes.
Tim Gallagher, Ryan's father and vice president of pharmacy operations for Astrup Drug Inc., the parent company of Sterling, had just dropped off his son at the store. Ten minutes later, Tim returned and saw all the police activity in the parking lot. He said he walked into the store and saw officers with their guns drawn, one pointed at the suspect and another at a customer whom police may have mistaken for an accomplice.
"This is a very unusual circumstance," Tim Gallagher said. "This guy was not after narcotics but rather antibiotics. Those people usually break in at night. I've had trouble here with bats and electrical outages, but nothing like this."
On Saturday, police were trying to get a warrant to search a Ford Ranger pickup truck in the store's parking lot that they think belongs to the suspect.
Sterling Drug was closed for the rest of the day and probably will remain closed today as the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the Owatonna police investigate further.
The store is on the outskirts of town in the Cedar Mall, which has few retail businesses. Most of the mall has been converted into office space in recent years. Only a GNC store, a Radio Shack, a store selling fitness equipment and a movie theater remain, along with the drugstore.
Many senior citizens shop at Sterling and were inconvenienced by Saturday's events.
"There are very important prescriptions in that place," said John Fossum, a special agent for the BCA.
Tim Gallagher accommodated a few customers Saturday by filling their prescriptions at a nearby location.
Meanwhile, Ryan Gallagher said he wasn't afraid to go back to work, but other store employees were shaken.
"I'm having a very bad day," manager Catherine Dostal said through tears.
Store worker Joe Rose, 15, just missed the shooting. He was on his way to work when Ryan Gallagher called and told him the news. "I'm shocked. I'm in disbelief," Rose said. "Who would have thought this would happen in little Owatonna?"
Police Chief Gene Fisher, a 35-year veteran of the department, said he thinks that this is the first time an Owatonna officer on duty has been shot.
Owatonna officer, suspect shot and wounded after altercation in drug store
OWATONNA, MINN. -- An Owatonna police officer was shot and wounded Saturday morning in a gunfight with a man inside a drug store.
Officer Joel Welinski was hit in the arm and leg. He was flown to St. Marys Hospital in Rochester, where he was in fair condition.
The gunman, described by police as a 38-year-old man who lives in the area, also was flown to St. Marys and was in serious condition, a hospital spokeswoman said Saturday night.
Police said a man carrying a black bag walked into Sterling Drug and demanded antibiotics minutes after the store opened at 8:30 a.m. He did not have a prescription, and he became agitated when the pharmacist refused his request. The store manager called 911 when the man climbed over the counter.
The shooting started when Welinski arrived. The man had two handguns and a high-powered rifle, authorities said. It was not clear who fired the first shot or how many were fired.
"It was scary; I heard lots of gunshots, probably 10 or more," said Ryan Gallagher, 16, who was working at the front cash register.
Welinski, 44, has a wife and a daughter and has worked 20 years for the department in Owatonna, about 65 miles south of the Twin Cities along Interstate Hwy. 35.
Five employees and two customers were in the store when the shooting broke out. No one else was injured.
Gallagher saw the suspect walk into the store. He said the man had a folded-up bag and was nicely dressed. At first, Gallagher said, he thought the man was a drug-company representative, but then figured that reps don't usually show up at that time of day and especially on a Saturday.
A moment later, the manager came running to the front of the store, saying, "There's a strange guy in the store; something is going on, and we've just called the cops."
Welinski was the first officer to arrive; two others came within minutes.
Tim Gallagher, Ryan's father and vice president of pharmacy operations for Astrup Drug Inc., the parent company of Sterling, had just dropped off his son at the store. Ten minutes later, Tim returned and saw all the police activity in the parking lot. He said he walked into the store and saw officers with their guns drawn, one pointed at the suspect and another at a customer whom police may have mistaken for an accomplice.
"This is a very unusual circumstance," Tim Gallagher said. "This guy was not after narcotics but rather antibiotics. Those people usually break in at night. I've had trouble here with bats and electrical outages, but nothing like this."
On Saturday, police were trying to get a warrant to search a Ford Ranger pickup truck in the store's parking lot that they think belongs to the suspect.
Sterling Drug was closed for the rest of the day and probably will remain closed today as the state Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and the Owatonna police investigate further.
The store is on the outskirts of town in the Cedar Mall, which has few retail businesses. Most of the mall has been converted into office space in recent years. Only a GNC store, a Radio Shack, a store selling fitness equipment and a movie theater remain, along with the drugstore.
Many senior citizens shop at Sterling and were inconvenienced by Saturday's events.
"There are very important prescriptions in that place," said John Fossum, a special agent for the BCA.
Tim Gallagher accommodated a few customers Saturday by filling their prescriptions at a nearby location.
Meanwhile, Ryan Gallagher said he wasn't afraid to go back to work, but other store employees were shaken.
"I'm having a very bad day," manager Catherine Dostal said through tears.
Store worker Joe Rose, 15, just missed the shooting. He was on his way to work when Ryan Gallagher called and told him the news. "I'm shocked. I'm in disbelief," Rose said. "Who would have thought this would happen in little Owatonna?"
Police Chief Gene Fisher, a 35-year veteran of the department, said he thinks that this is the first time an Owatonna officer on duty has been shot.