A woman has been found dead in a Mendota Heights business center following a morning standoff in a nearby senior home, according to police.
“It’s a really, really big crime scene”, Mendota Heights Police Chief Kelly McCarthy told the Pioneer Press on Saturday night.
Sources familiar with the investigation say a black Toyota Corolla authorities believe Nguyen was driving after the shooting has been recovered at the Washington County Fairgrounds.
Friends and family knew immediately that Cory was the victim when they heard the location of the incident-she was killed in her office at the Mendota Heights Executive Center, where she worked as a financial planner for Edward Jones.
Police began pursuing Nguyen as a suspect in that robbery, but he fled and crashed his vehicle in a swamp.
Law enforcement officials are asking residents of a portion of Mendota Heights to stay inside as they search for an armed robbery suspect. The hunt for him began at about 9 a.m. Saturday after a man was robbed at gunpoint. Nguyen then led police on a chase before crashing his vehicle in a swamp and fleeing on foot into a senior living center.
Police earlier evacuated the assisted living center as they searched for the armed suspect. The body of a woman was found in an office there at about 2 p.m. Authorities believe she was killed by Nguyen.
Nguyen is no stranger to law enforcement, now facing felony drug and assault charges in Wisconsin. The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension says Nguyen’s last known address is in Minneapolis, but recent court records list a New Hope address for him.