ND Air National Guard member identified as victim of fatal Minot shooting on Christmas Eve

FARGO (KFGO) – A member of the North Dakota Air National Guard was identified as the victim of a fatal shooting in Minot on Christmas Eve.

Master Sgt. Nicholas Van Pelt, an airman of the 219th Security Forces Squadron based at the Minot Air Force Base was shot and killed at his Minot apartment on Dec. 24. An unidentified 41-year-old woman was also critically wounded in the shooting.

Master Sgt. Van Pelt is a native of Ringold, Ga., and enlisted in the Air Force in 2001. He became a member of the North Dakota Air National Guard in 2009. 

Van Pelt was a Ward County Sheriff’s Deputy until May 2023, when he transitioned to serving full-time with the 219th Security Forces Squadron.

Colonel Mitch Johnson, Commander of the 119th Wing of the North Dakota Air National Guard, says the entire Hooligan family is saddened by the tragic loss of one of their members.

Homeland Security officer Daniel Breijo was arrested at the scene of the shooting and charged with felony murder and felony attempted murder.  

Authorities say Breijo and the victims knew each other.

Van Pelt is survived by his parents and three children.

Story by Don Haney / KFGO