Burnsville Woman Pleads Guilty to Straw Purchasing Firearms Used in Fatal Shooting of First Responders

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A Burnsville woman has pleaded guilty to straw purchasing multiple firearms for a felon, two of which were used to fatally shoot police officers Paul Elmstrand and Matthew Ruge, and firefighter paramedic Adam Finseth in Burnsville on February 18, 2024, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, between September of 2023 and January of 2024, the defendant purchased five different firearms from two different federal firearms licensees that the defendant knowingly transferred to her domestic partner, Shannon Cortez Gooden. Under Gooden's direction, Dyrdahl purchased the firearms and transferred them to Gooden, despite knowing that Gooden was a felon and was therefore legally prohibited from obtaining or possessing firearms.

Among the firearms Dyrdahl bought for Gooden were three semiautomatic AR-15-style firearm lower-receivers. One of these was a Franklin Armory FAI-15 .300 caliber semiautomatic firearm that was equipped with a binary trigger. A firearm with a binary trigger fires one shot when the trigger is pulled and another when the trigger is released, effectively doubling the rate of fire. Dyrdahl also purchased a .300 caliber barrel for the lower receiver. Dyrdahl knew that Gooden was loading the semiautomatic AR-15-style firearms with .300 Blackout ammunition, which is a heavier load ammunition that has an increased potential for lethality.

On February 18, 2024, Gooden used two firearms that Dyrdahl purchased for him to ambush police officers and firefighter paramedics who were responding to a call for help in his home. Gooden used a large-capacity magazine in the attack. The attack killed two police officers and a firefighter paramedic and injured a third police officer.

Dyrdahl pleaded guilty yesterday in U.S. District Court to two counts of straw purchasing in front of U.S. District Judge Jerry W. Blackwell. A sentencing hearing will be scheduled at a later date.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, and the Burnsville Police Department, with assistance from the Dakota County Attorney's Office and the Burnsville Fire Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kristian Weir and Thomas Calhoun-Lopez are prosecuting the case.