Update Dodge Center Man Hospitalized – A 65-year-old southern Minnesota man was hospitalized for evaluation Monday night after an hourslong standoff with authorities.
According to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, the standoff started around 11:20 a.m. on the 500 block of Third Avenue Northwest in Dodge Center.
A woman told responding authorities she and other family members were trying to get the 65-year-old to go to the hospital “as he seemed off and has a history of mental illness,” the sheriff’s office said.
The man’s roommate told a deputy the 65-year-old choked and hit him, but he managed to contain the man in a bedroom.
While he was in the bedroom, he opened a gun safe, the roommate said. The 65-year-old threatened to shoot the woman in the house if she did not leave, according to the sheriff’s office.
The roommate and woman fled the house.
Several agencies were called to assist. The neighborhood was evacuated and nearby schools were put on lockdown.
The 65-year-old left the house about an hour after the standoff started, threatened authorities and walked back inside, the sheriff’s office said.
After hours of unsuccessful communication attempts, authorities breached the home just after 4:30 p.m. The 65-year-old left the home and turned himself in just before 5 p.m., the sheriff’s office said.
Charges are pending against the man.
After deputies learned Lentz was armed, the sheriff’s office requested assistance from surrounding agencies including the Rochester Emergency Response Unit. The Triton School District was placed on a soft lockdown, and deputies evacuated the neighborhood and secured a six-block area around Lentz’s home.
At about 12:40 p.m., Lentz walked out his door, threatened to shoot officers and went back inside his home.
After multiple attempts to get Lentz to respond by cell phone, members of the ERU sent a “distraction device” into Lentz’s home shortly after 3:30 p.m.
Shortly after 4:36 p.m., the ERU broke windows on the southeast side of the home to try to get Lentz to respond to them. While they could still see Lentz walking around inside, he continued to refuse to respond to their commands to come out.
At about 4:52 p.m., ERU members broke a third window and Lentz came out and surrendered.
Lentz was taken into custody on warrants issued Monday for felony domestic assault by strangulation, terroristic threats, and 5th degree assault. He was taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital – Saint Marys for evaluation.
You may also like:
