Minnesota grocery worker impaled in the torso with a golf club, police say; man arrested

MINNEAPOLIS — Minneapolis police are investigating a stabbing that left a grocery store employee dead. 

Police arrived at a grocery store in Loring Park around 1 p.m. on Friday, according to a news release from the Minneapolis Police Department. The Associated Press reported that the man worked at Oak Street Grocery, a local business. 

The 66-year-old man was found behind the counter “with a golf club impaled through his torso,” the department said in the news release. 

First responders gave the man “immediate medical aid,” police said, and he was transported to Hennepin County Medical Center. The man died at the hospital, despite life-saving efforts, police said. 

In a news conference late Friday, police chief Brian O’Hara said that the suspect appeared to have collected some items from the store and taken them to the counter, according to the Associated Press. 

“It appears he then went behind the counter and then began to assault and bludgeon the individual behind the counter in a very grotesque way,” O’Hara said.

Police said that a witness gave the officers information that led them to a nearby apartment unit where the suspect had barricaded himself inside. A standoff ensued, and responders, including negotiators and the Minneapolis Police Department’s bomb squad, arrived on the scene. After nearly six hours, the man was arrested without incident, according to the news release. 

The suspect has not been identified. Police said he is 44 years old. 

The investigation into the incident is ongoing.