Minneapolis, MN: Three killed in Minn. shooting rampage

Published: April 30, 2010 at 7:32 PM

MINNEAPOLIS, April 30 (UPI) -- A Minnesota man allegedly went on a rampage Thursday, shooting three people dead and wounding another before killing himself, police said.

Trace Maxwell, 40, a Minneapolis-St. Paul tattoo parlor owner who police say also sold drugs and ran prostitutes, allegedly shot and killed a girlfriend, Amy Terborg, 28, and wounded her roommate, Gina Fredrickson, 20, The Minneapolis Star Tribune reported Friday.

Maxwell drove to the home of Jason Rand, 38, allegedly shot and killed him, then drove to another home where police say he fatally shot a third victim.

Both the third victim and Rand had taken out restraining orders against Maxwell, saying he had threatened them, The Star Tribune reported.

Maxwell knew all of the victims from business dealings, police said.

Police focused on Maxwell as a suspect in the rampage after the shooting of Terborg, they said.

They tracked Maxwell through his cellphone calls, and a dozen police cars followed Maxwell's SUV in a slow-speed chase through city streets, the newspaper said.

Detectives were in contact Maxwell by phone, trying to talk him into surrendering, when he apparently shot himself, crashing the SUV.

"At no point did he give a coherent explanation for why he did these things," said Capt. Amelia Huffman of the Minneapolis Police Department.