Charges – Argument Between Intoxicated Men Led to Winona Shooting
Winona, MN ( KROC-AM News ) - The charges filed against a Winona man depict an argument between two intoxicated men in the hallway of an apartment building that led to gunfire .
The court document says Winona police were called to an apartment building near Winona State University around 4:20 AM on Thursday after receiving a report of a man with a gun that was followed by another report that someone had been shot on the third floor of the building. When officers arrived at the scene, they found 27-year-old Cole Cameron leaning over another man, who was lying on the floor with a gunshot wound to his chest.
According to the criminal complaint, Cameron stated, without being asked, "I shot him."
The charges say a witness told officers that he heard the two men arguing and saw Cameron go into his apartment and then return to the hallway holding a handgun. The witness also indicated that he heard Cameron yelling at the victim to get back from him and threatening that he was going to "pump him full of lead."
The witness indicated that he went back into his apartment and recorded audio of the altercation on his cell phone. Winona police say the recording captured Cameron yelling, "do you want me to pull the trigger? That was followed by the voice of another male, believed to be the victim, yelling "pull it," and then the sound of a gunshot.
The evidence listed in the complaint also includes audio and partial video of the confrontation recorded by a Ring-style surveillance camera. The court document says the shooting victim sounds extremely intoxicated and that a preliminary breath test obtained from Cameron put his blood-alcohol-concentration at .2.
Winona police reported the shooting victim was transported by ambulance to the Winona hospital and was then airlifted to Gundersen Health in La Crosse for emergency surgery. At last report, the 35-year-old man was in critical but stable condition and remained unconscious.
Cameron was formally charged Friday morning with first-degree assault and intentional discharge of a firearm. His conditional bail was set at $20,000.
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