Suspect Located – All Clear Posted at University of Minnesota

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Minneapolis, MN (KROC-AM News) - The University of Minnesota has canceled a SAFE-U Emergency alert that was issued this morning due to a man's specific threat to shoot persons on the Twin Cities campus.

The U of M announced this afternoon that the suspect, identified as 41-year-old Joseph Mark Rongstad, had been located and contained in Chippewa County and normal operations have resumed at the school's sprawling Minneapolis campus. The Minnesota News Network is reporting that Rongstad is in his home in Watson and has since posted multiple times on Facebook, indicating a bomb is in the house and sharing a picture of a SWAT vehicle outside his window.

The earlier alert issued by the university advised all students and others to stay clear of the campus and all nonessential or noncritical employees were asked to work from home.

Minnesota Court records show Rongstad's criminal history includes a second-degree burglary conviction stemming from an incident at a church in a small town in Chippewa County in 2021. He was accused of smashing a tractor with a front loader into the narthex of the Watson Lutheran Church. The criminal complaint says Rongstad was found lying on the altar, wrapped in a blanket. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail.