Cloquet shooter on meth, dealing with 'monsters' when he killed strangers, self at Super 8 hotel

Nicholas Elliot Lenius didn't know his victims, investigators have determined

Mar 05, 20240

Elizabeth Flores, Star Tribune count

The Cloquet Police Department said Nicholas Elliot Lenius had methamphetamine in his system when he shot two strangers and himself at the Super 8 motel.

DULUTH - The man who fatally shot a front desk clerk, a guest and himself at the Cloquet Super 8 Motel in January had methamphetamine in his blood at the time of the quick and deadly spree that briefly shut down parts of the northern Minnesota city.

Nicholas Elliot Lenius, 32, who was identified as the shooter with help from video surveillance, contacted a coworker around the time of the incident and said he was dealing with "monsters," according to an update released by the Cloquet Police Department on Monday morning. Investigators said Lenius and victims, Shellby Marie Trettel, 22, and Patrick Jeffrey Roers, 35, did not know each other, based an on analysis of the shooter's electronic devices.

"The suspect may have been experiencing a mental health episode, potentially compounded by the influence of drugs," Cloquet Police Chief Derek Randall wrote in the news release.

https://www.startribune.com/cloquet-shooter-on-meth-dealing-with-monsters-when-he-killed-strangers-self-at-super-8-hotel/600348059/