By Police1 Staff
LA CRESCENT, Minn. — Footage released Thursday shows a suspect fire a shotgun at a Minnesota police officer w during a traffic stop.
WXOW reports that on July 31, La Crescent Officer Ryan Quanrud and Officer Christopher Frick pulling over a vehicle after they saw two men behaving suspiciously. When Quanrud approached the vehicle, the driver, Wyatt Helfrich, fired his shotgun at the officer, who returned fire.
Frick got back into his squad car and began pursuing the suspects, reaching speeds of almost 100 miles per hour. The suspects were shooting at the officers during the pursuit before their vehicle’s tires were punctured and they went off road.
After their car stopped, the suspects fled into a nearby cornfield with their weapons, but they were soon captured and taken into custody by police.
“We just want the public to realize how incredibly close we came to losing at least one of our police officers that night,” Houston County Sheriff Mark Inglett, said. “We live in a low crime area, but that doesn’t mean these things can’t happen and it is exactly why we train as hard as we do for these kinds of situations.”
Helfrich and the passenger, William Wallraff, face attempted first-degree murder and assault charges. The officers were cleared in the investigation and returned to work.