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Edina police: evidence collected, witness noncooperation slows probe; ATF, FBI and BCA assisting
Summary
Edina investigators say evidence was collected after shots were fired at a park but that witness noncooperation is the primary obstacle; the department has engaged federal and state partners and formed a regional workgroup with neighboring agencies.
Lieutenant Ryan Schultz, who leads the investigations unit, told residents the department has assigned multiple detectives to the case, collected evidence on scene and is using nontraditional investigative tools because many witnesses are not cooperating with interviews.
"We did collect some evidence on scene that we are actively going through and working on to get more of a story of what happened," Schultz said, adding the department had about nine detectives working interviews the night of the incident and had interviewed roughly 30 people connected to the scene. Schultz and Chief Todd Milburn said witness silence has required the use of technology, partner-agency resources and intelligence-sharing to piece together the case.
Schultz said the department has engaged the ATF, the FBI and the BCA for specialized tools and expertise and has formed a weekly information-sharing workgroup with nearby agencies, including Eden Prairie, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Saint Louis Park, to combine intelligence and operations. Milburn said the goal remains prosecution and conviction, which constrains what investigators can disclose publicly while the inquiry is active.
