Cloquet, Minn. shooting: 2 killed, gunman dead after hotel shooting

CLOQUET, Minn. (FOX 9) - Three people are dead, including the suspected gunman, after a shooting at the Super 8 hotel in Cloquet, Minnesota, on Monday evening.

Police believe a 32-year-old Ramsey man shot a hotel clerk, then went outside and shot a man in a vehicle before turning the gun on himself, Cloquet Police Chief Derek Randall said at a press conference on Tuesday morning. 

The victims — a 22-year-old Cloquet woman, who was a clerk at the hotel, and a 35-year-old Deer River man, who was shot in a vehicle — have not yet been identified by police, as family members are being notified. Their identities are expected to be released Wednesday morning. 

The motive for the shooting and any possible connection between the shooter, who hasn't been identified, and the victims is not known, Randall said on Tuesday. Much of the incident was captured on surveillance video.

Timeline of the Super 8 hotel shooting

Police say they were called to the Super 8 hotel around 6:30 p.m. for the report of a hotel employee who "looked like she'd been attacked."

At the scene, officers found two victims, a 22-year-old Cloquet woman and a 35-year-old Deer River man, who had both been shot. The woman was rushed to the hospital, where she died. The man, who was found in a car in the hotel parking lot, was pronounced dead at the scene.

Later, officers found the body of a 32-year-old Ramsey man outside, on hotel property, dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Investigators say, using surveillance video, they confirmed the man was the suspect. There was a handgun next to him. 

A shelter-in-place order issued Monday evening by Cloquet police was lifted around 8:36 p.m. The order covered the area of Big Lake Road and Highway 33 and was issued around 7 p.m. 

Cloquet police told FOX 9 people staying at the Super 8 stayed at the motel overnight, and some people were leaving Tuesday morning as the investigation continues. 

Authorities are confident there are no further threats to the public. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension is helping with the investigation.