Teen surrenders after Bemidji shooting leaves three critically wounded

A 16-year-old Bemidji boy surrendered at the Law Enforcement Center about two hours after police say he shot three adults in an apartment in the 2500 block of Itasca Loop Northwest, near the Bemidji Youth Soccer and Baseball complexes.

Officers with the Bemidji Police Department and Beltrami County deputies were called to the apartment around 4:40 p.m. Thursday, May 7, and found three adults with gunshot wounds. First responders gave aid at the scene before the victims were rushed to Sanford Bemidji Medical Center with critical injuries. Hospital officials later placed the facility on lockdown as a precaution while officers searched for the suspect.

Court reporting identified the victims as the teen’s mother, father and a third person who was outside as a bystander in the parking lot. The mother was shot in the abdomen, the father was hit in the thigh and femoral artery area, and the bystander was shot in the leg. The father required a tourniquet, according to later reporting.

Investigators said the boy fled on foot with a handgun after the shooting. He was taken into custody when he surrendered around 6:40 p.m. the same day. Police later found the gun hidden under a pile of leaves.

The juvenile petition says the teen told investigators he was angry after his parents took away his cellphone privileges and retaliated. Charges filed against him include first-degree assault, two counts of second-degree assault and possession of a firearm by a minor.

A hearing on whether to certify the juvenile defendant as an adult was scheduled for May 21, 2026. While the case moved into court, Bemidji Youth Baseball canceled practices and games during the active police response near the ball fields.

The case also highlighted the scale of the response in Beltrami County, where the sheriff’s office patrols more than 3,000 square miles and serves more than 47,000 residents.