A Minnesota man has been arrested after allegedly shooting dead his ex-girlfriend and her new boyfriend at a home where several children were present, according to authorities.
Randy Thomas Zimmerman, 45, was taken into custody in connection with the killings of Justin Reinhardt, 50, and his 32-year-old girlfriend, whose name has not been released by authorities, in the small town of Hanska, Minnesota, the Mankato Free Press reported. Authorities did not say what charges Zimmerman faces.
A boy called 911 around 4:22 a.m. Sunday to report that his momâs ex-boyfriend âbroke into their house and shot his mom,â the Brown County Sheriffâs Office said. Several children had reportedly fled the home, which belonged to Reinhardt, and were hiding out in the backyard when cops arrived, according to the Mankato Free Press.
It was not immediately clear whose children were in the home, or where they were taken after the attack. The Independent has contacted the Brown County Sheriffâs Office for comment.
Zimmerman was arrested late Sunday over 300 miles away in Letts, Iowa, after a high-speed chase which ended with deputies ramming the suspectâs vehicle, CBS News reported. The suspect allegedly shot at deputies with a long gun but missed, according to the Free Press.
Zimmerman is being held in the Louisa County Jail in Iowa. The Independent has contacted the Louisa County Sheriffâs Office for comment.
In Hanska, a tiny town of 165 people about 108 miles southwest of Minneapolis, neighbors remembered Reinhardt for his kindness and willingness to help out.
Reinhardtâs neighbor Sara Sandtorf told the Mankato Free Press that her home surveillance camera caught the suspectâs car parking across the street from his home just after 4 a.m., which she thought was strange before knowing what happened.
âNo oneâs ever driving on this road,â she said.
Another neighbor, Dick Smith, told the local news outlet that Reinhardtâs girlfriend had moved in with him recently.
