Man Charged With Shooting Western Minnesota Law Officer
Granite Falls, MN (KROC-AM News) - Bail has been set at $2 million for the man accused of shooting a Minnesota law enforcement officer earlier this week.
26-year-old William Edward Schindler of Granite Falls has been charged with three counts of first-degree attempted murder of a police officer and three counts of first-degree assault of a police officer. According to a criminal complaint filed in Yellow Medicine County Court, Schindler is accused of opening fire on three members of a multi-agency law enforcement team after they went to a home in Granite Falls on Monday afternoon to serve a warrant for his arrest.
The court record says one of the bullets allegedly fired by Schindler struck Willmar Police Officer Jason Hay in the lower torso. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says a Swift County Deputy also fired his weapon while the law officers retreated from the home to a location of safety. Officer Hay was then transported to a hospital where he was treated for the gunshot wound and released.
Schindler remained barricaded inside the home for about an hour and a half before he surrendered to authorities in the western Minnesota city. The criminal complaint says, prior to his surrender, Schindler spoke to a law enforcement official on the phone and inquired if anyone had been hit by the gunfire while claiming he never meant to shoot anyone.
Schindler is due back in court for another hearing on April 24.
