Amber Alert suspect accused of kidnapping woman, children at gunpoint and killing man in custody

A man accused of kidnapping a woman and her four children at gunpoint Friday morning is in custody and the victims have been reported safe, Minneapolis officials said.

Chad Aanerud, 35, was taken into custody during a traffic stop after the vehicle he was last seen in, a white minivan, was pulled over in Morrison County, Minnesota The Department of Public Safety’s Bureau of Criminal Apprehension (BCA) and local authorities confirmed to USA TODAY.

The victims, who police identified as the man’s 33-year-old girlfriend and four children, ages 3, 7, 11 and 14, were found safe in the vehicle, according to the Crow Wing County Sheriff’s Office. the agency that reported the family’s abduction. triggering a statewide amber alert.

Before the kidnapping, state officials said Aanerud — considered armed and dangerous — allegedly fatally shot someone in a nearby home before setting it on fire.

Authorities have identified the fatally shot man as 62-year-old Lyle Maske.

The sheriff’s office said the shooting and kidnapping are both under investigation.

It was not immediately known if the suspect knew Maske or if the shooting victim knew the Amber Alert victims.

According to information from the sheriff’s office, the family was taken from a home where they lived the city of Brainerd in the east central part of the state, about 130 miles northwest of Minneapolis.

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A Minnesota Amber Alert was issued after the kidnapping

According to a preliminary investigation, around 1:50 a.m. Friday, Aanerud arrived at a home in the 15000 block of Loerch Road where the victims were staying, fired a shotgun into the ceiling and forced the family to leave with him.

He is also suspected of fatally shooting a man at a nearby detached residence and burning down a house on that property.

“Do not approach,” the state agency wrote of Aanerud in a statement on the armed kidnapping.

This story has been updated to add new information.

Natalie Neysa Alund is a senior reporter for USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] and follow her on X @nataliealund.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Amber Alert: Woman, 4 children kidnapped from Crow Wing County, Minnesota