Investigators said Thursday that they were trying to determine when and why a Mendota Heights man shot and killed himself after a call for help prompted a police standoff and neighborhood evacuation.
Police were called to the Hillside Gables townhouse complex about 4:30 p.m. Wednesday when a woman reported that her fiance was getting a gun. Officers immediately cordoned off the area and emptied the 24-unit complex of its residents.
Despite repeated attempts, the officers who surrounded Donald Paul Richardson's townhouse for about 7-1/2 hours never established contact with the 42-year-old, said Mendota Heights Police Chief Mike Aschenbrener. Richardson was later found dead inside of a suspected self-inflicted gunshot wound.
It's unclear whether Richardson shot himself before police arrived or during the standoff, Aschenbrener said. Officers did not hear a gunshot as they stood guard around the complex.
"There are a few things that have to be examined and checked out," Mendota Heights police Sgt. Neil Garlock said.
The Dakota County medical examiner's will conduct an autopsy to help determine a time of death.
The standoff started after police received a 911 call from Richardson's fiancee, who reported the two were involved in a domestic dispute and that he was getting a gun, Garlock said.
The woman took her and Richardson's son and left the home on the 2400 block of Lexington Avenue, police said.
Outside, she told officers that Richardson was alone in the house.
Police tried to contact him on a cellphone and the house phone and via text messages but never reached him during the standoff, Aschenbrener said. Shortly before midnight, officers placed a remote-controlled camera in the home and located his body.
"Once the situation becomes static, meaning it's no longer moving and no people are in jeopardy...there's no need to hurry," Aschenbrener said. "Time is on our side generally."
A woman who identified herself as Richardson's mother would not comment about the incident on the phone Thursday night. Another woman, who said she was Richardson's sister, said the family was making funeral arrangements earlier Thursday.
Aschenbrener described the family as "traumatized."
This is "not something you can ever prepare for," he said.
Police evacuated the Hillside Gables complex during the standoff as a precaution.
Neighbors said they were shocked by Wednesday's events. Richardson, who lived at the home with his fiancee and their son, often played outside with the child.
Neighbors said they never suspected anything was wrong.
"I had no idea," said Rahel Gebrhiwot, who lives three houses away.
She returned home Wednesday night to the police standoff. Gebrhiwot said she usually feels safe at home but decided to stay at a friend's house Wednesday night.
On Thursday, police tape lined the townhouse, which is managed by the Dakota County Community Development Agency. Lights were on throughout the house and blinds hung from broken windows upstairs.
Hillside Gables houses "modest-income families" who work in the service industry, retail, manufacturing and other areas, said Mark Ulfers, the Community Development Agency's executive director. The homes were built in 2001.
Richardson's fiancee is a caretaker at the complex, Ulfers said.
Development agency staff went to the complex during Wednesday's standoff to help some residents pay for hotels for the night, he said.
Police have responded to calls before at Richardson's home, Garlock said, but he did not know what the calls were for.
"We believe (the complex) to be a very safe location," said Ulfers, of the community development agency.
Maricella Miranda can be reached at 651-228-5421.
My thoughts go out to the family and all those effected by this tragic event.
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