https://www.desmoinesregister....olice-say/774479002/

Des Moines business owner fatally shoots burglary suspect, police say

Linh Ta, Des Moines Register
Published 8:17 a.m. CT July 11, 2018 | Updated 9:50 a.m. CT July 11, 2018

A store owner fatally shot a burglary suspect Wednesday morning following a confrontation, Des Moines police say.

Police were called to Kraft 5 Star Muffler on Army Post Road on a report of a burglary around 7:15 a.m. En route, officers learned the burglary suspect was shot by the store owner. On arrival, they found a man’s body, according to police.

There was a confrontation between the burglary suspect and the business owner and the owner shot him, Des Moines police spokesman Sgt. Paul Parizek said.

The burglary suspect had driven up to the business in an out-of-state stolen truck and was loading items from Kraft 5 Star Muffler, Parizek said. When the owner came in for work, he found the suspect. Instead of fleeing, the man confronted the store owner, Parizek said.

Parizek said at first blush, “it certainly looks like Stand Your Ground” will be applied in the case, but the county attorney will decide.

Parizek didn't know if the burglar was armed. No one has been arrested. The store owner was not injured.

Return for more on this developing story.

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This has a video from a TV news crew, but not much in additional detail:

http://www.kcci.com/article/po...ary-suspect/22115092

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sigmund,

Hope all goes well for the owner.

Minus one scumbag. Love it.

“Instead of fleeing, the man confronted the store owner”.

Guess he won’t make that mistake again.

Clean up in aisle 4!

https://www.desmoinesregister....-homicide/783434002/

An Iowa store owner fired a warning shot into the ground, but it ricocheted and killed a burglar, Des Moines police say

Linh Ta and Danielle Gehr, Des Moines Register Published 3:39 p.m. CT July 13, 2018 | Updated 6:26 p.m. CT July 13, 2018

The shot that fatally injured a man who had broken into a Des Moines business was fired into the ground but ricocheted and struck the burglar in the head, police and the shooter's lawyer said Friday.

No criminal charges will be filed in the case, authorities said. Police had said since the killing Wednesday that an investigation would help determine whether the shooting by the business owner was justified under Iowa law.

Amund Benjamin Haarstad, 37, of Fergus Falls, Minnesota, died after Thomas Kraft, 67, the owner of Kraft 5 Muffler on Army Post Road, opened fire. Police found Haarstad's body when they arrived at about 7:15 a.m. Wednesday.

"Tom did not intend to kill or injure the burglar," Kraft's attorney, Mark Weinhardt, said in a statement Friday. "Tom shot at the ground many feet away from the burglar."

Addaleigh Delgado, Haarstad's sister, said this week that her brother had been struggling with drug addiction but, until a week ago, appeared to have gotten his life back together. Haarstad had just gotten a job and an apartment but relapsed before the burglary.

Weinhardt's statement said that Kraft, who had not used a firearm in over five years, retreated two times before the fatal shot in hopes that Haarstad would leave and that Kraft feared for his life.

A police news release Friday included a timeline based on detectives' investigation that closely matched the statement from Kraft's lawyer:

On Wednesday morning, when Kraft woke up at home, he saw a notification on his phone from his alarm system that someone had been in his shop. Security video he watched on his phone showed a person and a pickup truck inside Kraft 5 Star Muffler at 4:45 a.m.

When Kraft watched the surveillance camera in real time at about 7 a.m., it appeared no one was in the store. He went to his shop to see what was going on.

He was surprised to find Haarstad inside when he got there. A stolen pickup truck from Minnesota was also parked inside of the shop and loaded with more than $50,000 worth of tools and equipment from the store.

Kraft confronted Haarstad, who responded by asking why Kraft was there. Police said Haarstad threatened twice to kill Kraft.

Kraft left to the showroom part of the building and grabbed a firearm he kept hidden in his office for protection.

When Kraft returned to the body shop area, Haarstad was still there. Kraft fired a shot at the floor and Haarstad left the building.

Before calling 911, Kraft walked outside the bay area toward Army Post Road to see which direction Haarstad went and assumed he had run away. But when he walked around the corner to the east side of his building, Haarstad was there.

Kraft fired into the ground again. The ricochet hit Haarstad in the head. Photographs distributed Friday by Weinhardt show a mark on the ground outside of Kraft 5 Star Muffler.

"Tom was in acute medical distress at the time of this incident," Weinhardt said in the statement. "In the last three months he has had cancer surgery, had a cardiac stent inserted, and has lost significant weight. His heart was racing at the time and he was extremely anxious."

Surveillance footage viewed by a Des Moines Register reporter this week shows a man who appears to be Haarstad collapsing face-first outside of Kraft 5 Star Muffler at about 7:16 a.m. Wednesday.

The footage shows him running south on the east side of the business before suddenly collapsing on the ground. No gunfire is visible.

Kraft was hospitalized after the incident and gave an interview to Des Moines police once he was medically stable on Thursday, the day after the shooting, said Sgt. Paul Parizek, spokesman for Des Moines police.

Delgado and another of Haarstad's sisters, Emilyn Haugen, said they have been sent "nasty messages" following the news of their brother's death. They said people have called them naive for sticking up for his character.

"We don't condone that behavior at all," Delgado said. "We just want people to know he is not a monster."

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Sigmund,

Happy accident.

Thanks.

A good report to remember when people propose that police should fire warning shots before shooting someone.

Bank shot!

Reminds me of that X-Files episode- The Goldberg Variation

quote:

"We don't condone that behavior at all," Delgado said. "We just want people to know he is not a monster."

No, he's not a monster. He's a corpse.

quote:

Amund Benjamin Haarstad

https://mugshots.com/US-Counti...aarstad.4757104.html

Maybe this is was the guy?

quote:

An Iowa store owner fired a warning shot into the ground, but it ricocheted and killed a burglar, Des Moines police say

quote:

No criminal charges will be filed in the case, authorities said.

Good, because he could possibly have been jacked up legally. That should be a lesson. If the situation justifies shooting at all, it justifies shooting to hit and stop. The same goes for less lethal/lethal ammunition.

From a legal perspective, if it was a good shoot, it shouldn't matter that he was a bad shot as long as he only hit the guy who warranted being stopped.

quote:

Haarstad, 37, died after Thomas Kraft, 67, opened fire

isn't there something in the Ancient Writings that warns never to scare an old man because he'll kill you?

quote:

Originally posted by wishfull thinker:

quote:

Haarstad, 37, died after Thomas Kraft, 67, opened fire

isn't there something in the Ancient Writings that warns never to scare an old man because he'll kill you?

"Never act incautiously when facing a small wrinkly bald smiling old man!" - Lu Tze, reminding everyone of Rule One ("Thief of Time" by Terry Pratchett)