Police say Virginia man shot dead held torch lighter, not gun

The object in Ethan Roy Basche’s hand was not a gun, the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension said, but a torch lighter that looked like a firearm when Virginia police confronted him on Second Avenue West.

That distinction now sits at the center of the St. Louis County case. Basche, 31, of Chisholm, was shot and killed May 1 after Virginia police responded shortly before 8:30 a.m. to reports of a man in a ski mask walking between Third Street West and Fourth Street West while waving what appeared to be a handgun. The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office later identified him as the man who died at Essentia Health-Virginia.

According to the BCA’s preliminary account, Virginia Police Lt. Henry Trunk arrived, ordered Basche to put his hands in the air and, as Basche walked toward him and appeared to raise the object, Trunk fired his department-issued firearm. Officers gave medical aid until paramedics arrived, but Basche was pronounced dead at the hospital.

Investigators recovered a ski mask, spent casings and the torch lighter from the scene. The BCA said the lighter was consistent with the appearance of a firearm, and that body-worn cameras captured portions of the encounter. The footage has not been released.

The Virginia Police Department requested the BCA investigation, and Trunk was placed on critical incident leave, a standard step after an officer-involved shooting. The BCA said Trunk has 10 years of law-enforcement experience.

For St. Louis County, the case carries immediate implications beyond the one block where the shooting happened. Virginia, with a 2020 census population of 8,421, and Chisholm, with 4,775, are close-knit Iron Range communities where a deadly encounter involving a local resident quickly becomes a countywide question about training, threat assessment and transparency.

The BCA said that once its investigation is complete, it will present its findings without recommending charges to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office for review. That review will shape the official record of what happened, including how police interpreted Basche’s movements, when Trunk fired and how body-camera video aligns with the preliminary account.

The BCA’s family, victim and community relations coordinator is the main contact for families during use-of-force investigations and helps explain the process, including any viewing of body-camera video. With the object in Basche’s hand now identified as a torch lighter, pressure will likely remain on investigators to explain how officers made their split-second decision and when the public will see more of the evidence.