Man faces trial in shooting of 5 Benton County officers

Benton Co. shooting: Suspect's criminal history

FOX 9's Courtney Godfrey with the latest on the Benton County police shooting.

FOLEY, Minn. (FOX 9) - The man accused of shooting and injuring five Benton County officers in 2023 is scheduled to go to trial on Monday. 

Jury trial

The backstory:

Karl Thomas Holmberg, 66, is facing 16 felony charges, including seven counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer, in addition to assault, weapons and drug charges. 

Holmberg is accused of shooting at law enforcement officers as they were executing a search warrant at his Princeton home.

Jury selection is scheduled to begin Monday morning. Once the jury is seated, opening statements will begin. The trial is scheduled to last into early next week. 

Benton County officer shooting 

The allegations:

On Oct. 12, 2023, members of the Sherburne County Drug Task Force attempted to execute a search warrant at Holmberg’s residence on the 200 block of 10th Avenue Northeast in Princeton when five officers were shot. 

Holmberg’s wife told authorities she was woken up by Holmberg stating "they were here" and saw multiple guns on the bed. The wife checked the security camera and saw law enforcement outside, and he indicated it was "his day to die," the charges read. 

RELATED: Suspect in Benton County officer involved shooting had history with law enforcement

Authorities then announced their presence and entered the home. The six officers approached the closed bedroom door, and as they tried to go inside, Holmberg allegedly started "blindly shooting." His wife said he asked her to "join the fight" and called her a "coward" for not doing so, court records explained.  

Officers exchanged gunfire and retreated from the home. Five officers were injured in the shooting. One officer suffered a gunshot wound to the arm, another was shot in the chest and hip, and a third officer was shot in the hand. All three officers were airlifted to North Memorial Medical Center.

Two other officers were shot in their bulletproof vests and transported to a St. Cloud Hospital but were later discharged. The sixth officer was not injured. 

Holmberg was later taken into custody after a standoff with authorities. He told investigators he suffered a gunshot wound to the foot during the encounter, according to court records. 

While processing the crime scene, charges state law enforcement found "numerous guns" in the bedroom, including an officer’s gun, handguns, a shotgun, and a rifle. The charging documents have not said what the initial knock and announce narcotics search warrant was related to.