Crime & Safety

Police: Man in Mendota Heights Standoff Died of Self-Inflicted Gunshot

Law enforcement commandeered part of Lexington Avenue for more than eight hours.

The suspect in a standoff at Hillside Gables Townhomes Wednesday evening died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, according to a statement from the Mendota Heights Police Department.

A remote camera located the body of Donald Paul Richardson, age 42, shortly before midnight. His death was confirmed by Dakota County’s Mutual Assistance Aid Group (MAAG), said the statement.

 The confirmation of Richardson’s death brought with it the end of a lengthy law enforcement response rarely seen in Mendota Heights.

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A woman called Dakota County dispatch around 4:30 p.m. from the residence to report a domestic assault situation. She said that the suspect was getting a gun.

The woman left the unit with a child, and both are safe.

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Residents of the townhomes were evacuated and Lexington Avenue was blocked off to through traffic. Onlookers and those evacuated from their homes gathered at the parking lots of 3M and Lexington Heights Apartments throughout the evening.

The Red Cross was contacted to provide housing assistance.

Law enforcement then attempted to make contact with the suspect, to no avail.

The Dakota County Sheriff, State Patrol, Hastings, Apple Valley, Inver Grove Heights, Rosemount, Farmington, South St. Paul, West St. Paul, Bloomington and Burnsville police departments are among those that responded with manpower and equipment.

According to information from the Dakota Communications Center, calls to the residence over the past two years have been for domestic disturbance, crisis and medical response.


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