On the evening of July 19, 2021, a distressing call was made to the Faribault police department from a woman who reported that her boyfriend was intoxicated, behaving erratically, and preventing her from leaving their residence. She informed the dispatcher that he had access to two firearms and might become confrontational with law enforcement. During the call, the dispatcher heard a scream before the line went silent; subsequent attempts to reconnect were unsuccessful.
Responding to the
call at a home on the 700 block of 3rd Street Northwest, officers discovered a grim scene. The front door was unlocked, and inside, the furniture was in disarray. On the floor lay the bodies of a man and a woman. The female victim, identified as 32-year-old Amanda Schroeder, had sustained multiple gunshot wounds. Despite immediate medical intervention by the officers, she was pronounced dead at the scene.
The man found beside her was 27-year-old Brandon Akermark. He had a single gunshot wound to the head, and a handgun was found near his body. Authorities concluded that Akermark shot Schroeder before turning the gun on himself in a murder-suicide. The Hennepin County Medical Examiner's Office was tasked with conducting autopsies. Law enforcement officials believe the incident was contained to the residence and that there was no further threat to the public.
