Man who killed self in Cloquet standoff identified
Jul. 13—Authorities have identified the man who killed himself during a standoff with police Saturday in Cloquet.
According to a news release from the Cloquet Police Department on Monday, Avery Brenden Cogswell, 20, of St. Paul, shot himself after a 2 1/2-hour standoff with police. The department's release said a medical examiner determined suicide was the preliminary cause of death.
According to an earlier news release, the Cloquet Police Department, Fond du Lac Police Department, Carlton County Sheriff's Office and the Minnesota State Patrol responded to 309 Ridge Road in Cloquet on a report of a man with a gun who had entered the house and threatened the residents there.
They arrived at approximately 10:19 a.m., and were able to get the residents out of the house safely. Officers negotiated with Cogswell for approximately 2 1/2 hours, urging him to surrender, according to the release. When those negotiations failed, they employed non-lethal measures to end the standoff, but during that time, Cogswell used a handgun to take his own life.
According to authorities, no officers were injured during the incident, and none of them discharged a weapon.
