Shooting leads to arrest

A man found Sunday afternoon walking along a highway with gunshot wounds to his legs near Midway Road and Interstate 35 led to a three-day investigation and an arrest on Tuesday.

According to a St. Louis County Sheriff’s Office report, deputies were called to the area and discovered a 39-year-old Wrenshall man with injuries around 1:15 p.m. His injuries were not life threatening and he was treated and later released from a hospital. Deputies said he was reluctant to offer details about the shooting but they were eventually led to an area a few miles northeast of where he was found, at Thompson Hill Road and Ormsby Road, where the alleged shooting took place. Investigators found .45 caliber shells and a bullet there, the report said.

Two persons of interest came to light but there wasn’t enough evidence Sunday to pursue arrests, the report said.

On Monday morning, an abandoned vehicle was discovered near the Spirit Mountain Campground in the area and more evidence was compiled by investigators working to put the pieces of the case together. On Tuesday afternoon, the report says, a .45 caliber handgun was found in the Spirit Mountain campground area. A follow-up search warrant was executed at a Carlton County home, where additional evidence was recovered, leading to the arrest of a 29-year-old man from Esko.

Other people involved in the shooting may face charges, the sheriff’s office reported, after review by the county attorney’s office.

The report says the people involved in the shooting were known to each other.

St. Louis County was assisted in the case by the Proctor, Duluth and Eveleth police departments and the Carlton County Sheriff’s Office. The Lake Superior Drug and Violent Crimes Task Force also aided in the investigation.