Deputy Killed, Two Other Officers Hurt in Pope County

GLENWOOD (WJON News) -- The Pope County Sheriff's Office says one of its own was shot and killed in the line of duty on Saturday night.

Shortly before 7:30 p.m. on Saturday officers from the Glenwood and Starbuck Police Departments and the Pope County Sheriff's Office were dispatched to a residential address in Cyrus on a domestic call.

At one point during the attempted arrest, there was an exchange of gunfire between officers and a man at the home.

One Starbuck officer and two Pope County Deputy Sheriffs were struck by gunfire. The Starbuck officer was injured but was not hospitalized. One Pope County Sheriff's Deputy was treated for injuries and released.

The other Deputy arrived at the medical facility in critical condition and later died.

The deputy who died has now been identified as 44-year-old Josh Owen. He was a member of the department for nearly 12 years.

He leaves behind a wife and son.

Deputy Owen had just been given a Life Saving Award in March for his heroic life-saving efforts during a house fire back in November.

The suspect was also struck and killed during the exchange of gunfire.

The Pope County Sheriff’s Office asked the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension to investigate this incident. Further information about the investigation will come from that agency.