SUSPECT IN CUSTODY AFTER SHOOTING A 17 YEAR OLD

At approximately 10:00 PM, the Beltrami County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call from a 17 year old female reporting she had been shot several times when she was standing on the deck of her home in the 6300 block of Palomino Drive NW, Eckles Township. Responding Deputies found her inside the door to her residence and immediately began first aid until EMS from Bemidji Ambulance Service and First Responders arrived on scene. The victim, whose identity will not be disclosed due to her age, was transported to Bemidji Sanford Hospital Emergency Department where she was stabilized and subsequently transported to Duluth for further care.

Assisted by Bemidji Police Officers and a Minnesota State Trooper, Deputies immediately began canvassing the neighborhood and searching for the shooting suspect. Within minutes, officers located the suspect at his residence in the 6100 block of Palomino Drive NW and he was arrested for Attempted 1st Degree Murder. Chad Eric Pickering, age 40, was taken to the Beltrami County Sheriff's office where Investigators obtained a statement from him before lodging him in the County Jail. The investigation is being submitted to the Beltrami County Attorney's Office for consideration of charges.

The investigation determined Pickering acted alone in committing this terrible assault and there is no ongoing danger to the community.

Beltrami County Sheriff's Office was assisted by members of the Bemidji Police Department, Minnesota State Patrol, Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Bemidji Ambulance Service and North Country First Responders.