1 arrested, 3 injured in Sunday break-in near Puposky
Apr. 21—PUPOSKY — Three individuals were hospitalized with various injuries, including gunshot wounds, and a man was charged with four felony offenses after a break-in turned attempted murder in Puposky on Sunday.
Around 2:39 a.m. on April 18, the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office responded to a report of multiple assaults with a weapon at a residence on Silver Maple Road in Puposky in Beltrami County, according to a criminal complaint.
The suspect was known to the victims, so the caller identified the gunman to deputies as 19-year-old Owen Jean Dietrich of Emmons, Minn., and told them Dietrich had fled the scene in a white van.
Dietrich has been charged with four felony offenses stemming from the incident. He faces two counts of second-degree intentional attempted murder, one count of first-degree felony burglary and one count of assault with a dangerous weapon.
Upon arrival at the residence, deputies found three victims with injuries, including at least two with gunshot wounds. The victims were rushed to the hospital to be treated for their injuries, according to the complaint.
Deputies attempted to locate Dietrich, and then received a report that his van was found on the Red Lake Reservation in the ditch off of U.S. Highway 89.
Upon arrival, deputies observed a white van, which appeared to have rolled over, resting on its side off the roadway on the west side of U.S. Highway 89, approximately one mile northwest of the Beltrami and Clearwater County line. Officers with the Red Lake Police Department had located and detained Dietrich, the complaint said.
Beltrami County deputies took Dietrich into custody and he was transported to the emergency room at the Sanford Bemidji Medical Center to be medically cleared before being transported to the Beltrami County Jail.
A Beltrami County investigator later interviewed the victims at the hospital. According to the victims, one male and two females, two of them sustained gunshot wounds and all three sustained other injuries.
The male victim told investigators, "he was at the residence sleeping when he was awoken by a loud bang and a sharp pain in the side of his head."
The victim observed Dietrich standing at the foot of the bed with an object in his hands, but did not immediately recognize him, and stated he initially thought he was being robbed. After the victim fully woke up, he recognized the suspect as Dietrich and saw he was holding a gun, which he described as being a shorter rifle. The victim then noticed blood coming from the side of his head, the complaint said.
According to the male victim, Dietrich began striking him and a female victim repeatedly with the gun while yelling at them.
After his arrest, Dietrich provided a statement to law enforcement where he admitted to shooting and assaulting the victims. The suspect stated he first greeted the dogs to make sure they did not bark. Unsuccessful at keeping them quiet, Dietrich stated one of the female victims, who had been sleeping on the couch, began to stir.
Dietrich admitted to hitting her with the rifle, before approaching her from behind and shooting her in the top of the head. Dietrich recounted how he then proceeded up the stairs to the room occupied by the other two victims and how he aimed the gun where he thought the male victim's head would be and fired it. He said the female victim in the room began to react, so he struck her with the rifle until it began to fall apart.
The suspect has no prior convictions. No further information has been released about the condition of the victims.
