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MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - Two officers who raided the wrong house during an investigation were shot at and returned fire, but no one was injured, a police spokesman said.
Family members said the shooter, the father of six, was frightened by the intruders early Sunday and fired through a closed bedroom door after first firing a warning shot.
The SWAT team's erroneous search was part of an ongoing investigation, the police department said in a news release. Police said they had received bad information before executing the search warrant.
"It was some bad information that was received on the front end and it's unfortunate because we have officers that were hit by gunfire and this truly, truly could have been a much worse situation," said Sgt. Jesse Garcia.
Family members living in the house said they were upstairs when they heard someone bust through their back door. They said Vang Khang grabbed his hunting gun to protect himself, his wife and his six children.
"He thought they were gang members and he was scared," said Vang's brother, Dao Khang. Dao Khang said Vang fired a warning shot, and then two more shots through his closed bedroom door.
The bullets hit two officers, but they weren't injured. Police said bulletproof vests and helmets saved the officers from harm.
Several officers returned fire but no one in the house was injured, the department said. The man suspected of firing the shots was taken into custody, police said. He was later released, and a decision on whether to charge him was pending.
"All these gunshots in the house," Dao Khang said. "They don't know what's going on. Flying bullets in the house and they just cried."
The officers, who weren't identified, were placed on administrative leave while the incident is investigated, which is standard procedure. The officers said they identified themselves as police. Garcia said a language barrier may have created the misunderstanding.
Vang's family said he and his children, who range in age from 3 to 15, are still shaken.
