A Statement by Wright County Sheriff Sean Deringer from a press conference conducted at 4 p.m. Wednesday, June 22:
“On Tuesday, June 21 at 12:37 a.m., Wright County Deputies were dispatched to a gun complaint on the 500 block of Central Avenue West in the City of St. Michael. The reporting party stated a male and a female were verbally arguing and that the male was carrying a rifle.
Deputies arrived in the area and gathered information. Some of the information was that an adult female and two juveniles had previously left the residence. There was still one juvenile left in the residence, but that person was not in danger by remaining there. Deputies saw the subject, Brandon Gardas, 39 years of age, through the windows pacing around with a long gun. Deputies derived another plan to take the subject into custody.
“At 2:20 p.m. Tuesday, the Wright County Sheriff’s Office attempted to make contact at the residence. The suspect refused to cooperate with law enforcement. Sheriff’s deputies had minimal contact with him via cell phone and a PA system. These conversations were sporadic. Shortly after 6:00 p.m., the remaining juvenile male walked out of the residence. He was taken from the area and evaluated by paramedics. No one other than the suspect remains in the residence.
“Neighboring residents have been safely evacuated and certain roads have been closed to meet public safety needs.
“The male party continues to be aggressive to law enforcement and has fired several shots at us. “No deputies have been injured as a result of these shots.
“We continue to work for a peaceful resolution to this incident. We thank the community for its support and apologize to the neighbors and others impacted by this incident.
“The suspect is known to law enforcement from numerous police contacts. He currently has warrants out for his arrest for Domestic Assault and Felon in Possession of a Firearm. The adult female and three youth are all safe at this time. Due to the nature of the crimes involved, we will not identify them or their current disposition. Please know that they are safe.
“I would like to thank the numerous law enforcement agencies that have stepped up to assist us in the prolonged incident. They are too numerous to mention at this time.
“This is an ongoing situation and we will continue on here as long as it takes to resolve this.”