A gunshot victim was found with a wound to the head at RHS Lonsdale Apartments, and police say the death was not suspicious. Officers and paramedics responded to the scene, and a medical helicopter landed nearby at Sticha Park as emergency crews worked the call.
Lonsdale Police Chief Jason Schmitz confirmed the death at 321 First St. SE was not suspicious, according to southernminn.com. Scanner transmissions indicated the scene was cleared within under an hour, the outlet reported. Schmitz was Lonsdale police chief in June 2018, according to KYMN Radio.
The apartment building has been the site of a prior emergency call involving self-harm. In September 2022, Schmitz investigated a suspected suicide following a welfare check at the same address, 321 1st Avenue Southeast, according to the New Prague Times.
Mayor Points Residents Toward Mental Health Support
In the wake of the incident, Lonsdale Mayor Tom Berg said community members should thank the people who serve the community, per the same southernminn.com account. Berg also said help is available to people who are struggling, and that seeking support is a sign of strength. He added that mental health challenges are real, serious, and can affect anyone, the report notes.
Berg took office after winning election in November 2024, receiving 951 votes to succeed former city leadership, according to Rice County records. Lonsdale itself is a rapidly growing Rice County exurb roughly 40 miles south of Minneapolis, with an estimated population that had expanded past 5,100 residents by 2025, per World Population Review. Sticha Park, where the medical helicopter landed, is a 41-acre city park located at 600 1st Avenue SE, according to Pacer.
Statewide Data Shows Firearm Suicides at Record Levels
Berg's remarks land against a backdrop of rising firearm suicides across Minnesota. Firearm suicides in the state reached 424 deaths in 2025, accounting for 77% of all 549 firearm fatalities statewide, while firearm homicides dropped to 119, according to FOX 9. The Minnesota Department of Health also published a 2025 suicide data brief.
Rural counties are also part of Minnesota's suicide-prevention landscape. Meanwhile, the 988 Minnesota Lifeline remains a crisis-support resource.
Local Crisis Resources Available in Rice County
For Rice County residents facing a mental health emergency, the county provides information about adult mental-health services, according to Rice County. That information reflects the same message Berg delivered following the Lonsdale incident: that reaching out for support is a sign of strength, not weakness.
