Public memorial for fallen Burnsville first responders will be removed Sunday

By Anthony Bettin

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    BURNSVILLE, Minnesota (WCCO) — A public memorial for three slain Burnsville first responders will be removed Sunday, three weeks after they were killed in a shooting during a standoff, officials said.

City officials in Burnsville said they will “begin decommissioning the memorial outside City Hall and continue to move forward in our grieving.”

Police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge and firefighter/paramedic Adam Finseth were fatally shot Feb. 18 while responding to a domestic call. The suspect died by suicide after killing the first responders, authorities said.

Since that day, the public has left tokens and messages of remembrance outside Burnsville City Hall.

“We are truly grateful for everyone who came to show their support and shared in our grief,” the city said. “Our community came together and made this space a place for unity.”

The city asks anyone who would still like to pay their respects to do so by Saturday and leave Sunday “as a private day for us to come together for the decommissioning.”

Officials said they have made a “thoughtful plan” to remove and care for the items left at the site. Three life-sized bronze figures of a firefighter, a paramedic and a police officer created by Burnsville artist Mary Pat Lutz will eventually be permanently installed in the city.

Last week, thousands gathered for a public memorial service for Elmstrand, Ruge and Finseth at Grace Church in Eden Prairie, followed by an hourslong procession. Sgt. Adam Medlicott, who was wounded in the Feb. 18 shooting, spoke at the memorial, telling the slain men to “rest easy, brothers.”

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