A 22-year-old woman is facing charges after she allegedly shot a man with a BB gun during a heated dispute over a dog the two once shared. Shea Tasha Juergens was charged in Pope County District Court with second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon, making terroristic threats and fifth-degree assault, following an October 23 confrontation on East Minnesota Avenue near 5th Street SE.
According to the criminal complaint as detailed by MN Crime, Glenwood police were dispatched that day for a reported domestic incident involving a BB gun. Officers learned Juergens had come to Glenwood to give the victim a dog the pair shared, but the complaint says she became upset when he began walking the animal afterward.
Dispute Escalated From Argument to Gunfire
The complaint describes Juergens following the victim in her vehicle while he walked the dog, after the two had reportedly argued over the animal throughout the day. She told police she had become aggressive while trying to take the dog back from him and admitted firing a BB gun at him, according to the report's account of the complaint. The victim said she was roughly one to one and a half feet away.
Juergens told officers she fired a total of three pellets and admitted the pellets struck the victim, per the complaint. The victim reported being shot in the back and left hip area. The complaint notes that the victim said Juergens had not pushed him before she opened fire, and the victim said she appeared to keep firing until the BB gun was empty.
Threatening Messages Cited in Complaint
The complaint states the victim believed Juergens had planned to use the BB gun on him before he even saw her that day. He provided investigators with text and Snapchat messages exchanged with Juergens, including one in which he wrote, “why don't you come back up here and shoot me some more,” though that message was marked as not delivered, according to the complaint.
Investigators also cite an alleged threat from Juergens during the encounter: “if there were more bullets in here, I'd shot you in the head.” An officer photographed the victim's injuries at the scene, and the BB gun along with those photographs were collected into evidence. The complaint says the interaction was also captured on body-worn and squad camera footage.
Arrest and Charges
Juergens was found nearby a short time later and was detained due to weather conditions before being transported to the Glenwood Police Department, where she was placed under arrest. The charges against her were formally filed October 26.
Under Minnesota Statutes section 609.222, the state's second-degree assault statute covering use of a dangerous weapon carries a potential sentence of up to seven years in prison, a fine of up to $14,000, or both, according to the Minnesota Revisor of Statutes. That figure reflects the statute's general sentencing range and does not indicate any outcome in Juergens's case.
