Minnesota police shoot, injure man brandishing handgun in Target parking lot

April 22 (UPI) -- A car theft suspect was shot and injured in the parking lot of a suburban St. Paul, Minn., Target store Monday after allegedly brandishing a handgun at officers, authorities said.

The incident began at about 10:30 a.m. in Woodbury, Minn., located about 9 miles east of Minnesota's capitol city, when officers responded to a call about an unoccupied car with stolen plates in the store's parking lot at about 10:30 a.m. local time, police said in a statement.

After they arrived at the scene, a suspect described as an adult male about 50 years old emerged from the store, returned to the vehicle and "fought with the officers when they attempted to arrest him," according to police.

During the struggle, police noticed he was armed with a handgun and "disengaged" from the fight while the suspect then barricaded himself inside the vehicle and refused to come out.

A SWAT team was then called, which attempted to negotiate with the man and "deployed less than lethal options" to prompt him to leave the car, all without success.

Eventually, the man "exited the vehicle, brandished a handgun, and pointed it in the direction of responding officers, who then fired," police said.

The suspect was taken to hospital in St. Paul with gunshot wounds. The extent of his injuries was not immediately available.

Shoppers at the Target said the store was put on lockdown during the confrontation and those inside were instructed to seek cover.

"It was a scary scene with shoppers either evacuated or forced to shelter in place," Woodbury Police Chief Jason Posel told reporters.