2 police officers, paramedic killed in U.S. Minnesota shooting

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- Two police officers and a fire department paramedic were shot and killed at a home on Sunday morning in Burnsville, near Minneapolis, capital city of U.S. Minnesota state.

A gunman barricaded himself inside the home with a woman and seven children early morning, and officers were sent to the residence before 2 a.m. (GMT 0800), attempting to communicate with those inside, according to the Star Tribune, the largest newspaper in Minnesota.

At about 5:30 a.m. local time, gunfire erupted, killing two officers and a paramedic who was tending to one of the victims. Another policeman was wounded in the incident. The gunman died after turning his weapon on himself.

The suspect fired at officers as they tried to negotiate with him to leave the house, added the report.

The gunman had "several guns and large amounts of ammunition and shot at the police officers from multiple positions within the home," said Superintendent Drew Evans of the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at a press conference on Sunday evening.

Several officers returned fire, he added, but the exact details of the gunfire exchange remain under investigation.