Cops: Armed suspect killed by police outside Minn. day care

RAMSEY, Minn. - A Minnesota day care center was closed Friday after an officer-involved shootout unfolded in the parking lot, leaving one man dead, reports CBS Minnesota.

The station reports investigators are trying to determine what caused the fatal shooting, which started Thursday afternoon when two officers answered a call at The Learning Lodge in Ramsey, Minn. An unidentified suspect was shot to death and the center was put on lockdown. Two other men were arrested. No one else was hurt.

Cmdr. Paul Sommer, of the Anoka County Sheriff's Office, said Ramsey Police got a call from day care workers that three men were sitting in a car in the parking lot for half an hour, and that it seemed suspicious.

"As [the officers] approached, one male suspect got out of the car and began running on foot," Sommer said. "As the Ramsey officers attempted to peruse and engage the suspect, he pointed a handgun at [them], and the Ramsey officers fired... striking him."

Parents left work early to pick up their kids, according to the station.

"My boss just asked me if it was safe," parent Tari Smith told CBS Minnesota. "I said, 'I don't care, I just want to be where my kid's at.'"

Erica Levercom said the call from the day care notifying her about the lockdown was nerve wracking. "I was just terrified, terrified," she said. "There was a lot of traffic, and I just wanted to get here as fast as I could."

CBS Minnesota reports there were several casings left behind after the shooting, but it's unclear if the suspect ever fired his weapon, as well as why he and the two other men showed up at the day care in the first place.

"At this point, I can't tell you if there's any nexus between the day care center and those suspects, or if they just found that parking lot a good spot to stop," Sommer said.

The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is investigation the shooting, according to the station. Authorities have interviewed several witnesses. It's not clear if any children saw the shooting.

The Midwest Medical Examiner's Office will perform an autopsy on the suspect.