Man charged with six counts of first-degree attempted murder in police shooting

Detroit Lakes, Minn. (KDLM) – A criminal complaint says the Minnesota man accused of shooting five law enforcement officers last Thursday told his wife it was “his day to die” when he learned that drug task force officers were at his home in Glendorado Township.

64-year-old Karl Thomas Holmberg was charged Friday with six counts of attempted first-degree murder of a peace officer and six counts of first-degree assault of a peace officer.

Charges stem from an exchange of gunfire Thursday as officers sought to serve a search warrant at his property in rural Princeton.

According to the complaint, after officers entered the home, Holmberg shot them through a closed door with a military-style rifle. 

He asked his wife to join him in fighting police, but she refused. 

She told investigators that Holmberg called her a “coward” and she was not injured during the incident.

The officers sustained injuries that were not life-threatening and Holmberg was shot in the foot.

The shooting led to a nearly four-hour standoff before Holmberg was taken into custody.

A Benton County District Court judge set bail at $6 million without conditions, or $3 million with standard conditions such as a ban on possessing weapons or ammunition, and set his next court date for Oct. 24.