The pre-dawn incident unfolded as Stewartville wrestlers gathered for a Friday tournament.
STEWARTVILLE, Minn. — A man shot a teenager in the parking lot of Stewartville High School early Friday, then died by suicide at the scene, the Olmsted County Sheriff’s Office said. The shooting happened around 5 a.m. as the school’s wrestling team assembled to board a bus for a tournament.
Authorities said the teenager was rushed to Mayo Clinic in nearby Rochester and underwent surgery. The family reported the student was in “critical but stable condition” later Friday. Deputies and school officials spent the morning securing the campus and interviewing witnesses while investigators worked to determine a motive and whether the shooter knew the student. The sheriff’s office said the man’s identity will be released after family notifications. The incident halted a routine team departure and rattled a community where early morning practices and bus trips are a winter staple.
Coaches and students heard a single gunshot in the lot before adults called 911, according to the sheriff’s office. Responding deputies found an injured teenager and an adult man who had died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. The student was stabilized by first responders and taken by ambulance to Rochester. “He’s in critical but stable condition,” the family said in a statement shared with local media. Investigators placed evidence markers near parked vehicles and canvassed the area for surveillance footage. School staff gathered students inside the building as deputies set up crime scene tape along the bus loop and south lot entrance.
Officials said they are reviewing parking lot cameras and nearby business footage, and they are interviewing the team, coaching staff, and early-arriving custodial workers. The sheriff’s office did not release the shooter’s name Friday and did not say if a weapon was recovered beyond confirming evidence of a self-inflicted gunshot. The student’s age and grade were not disclosed. Stewartville High School sits just off Main Street in Olmsted County, about 12 miles south of Rochester. Fire and EMS units staged near the school’s activities entrance while investigators mapped the scene and photographed vehicles waiting to leave for the tournament.
Records requests for radio traffic and 911 calls were filed Friday morning as investigators reconstructed the timeline. The Southeast Minnesota Medical Examiner’s Office will conduct an autopsy to confirm the cause and manner of the man’s death and will release his identity after next of kin are notified. Detectives will prepare a case file detailing the assault on the student and the subsequent suicide. Officials said any decision on additional public safety measures at future events will follow an internal review once the initial facts are documented and verified.
Community members described a quiet start to the day that shifted quickly when sirens converged at the campus. A neighbor who walks his dog past the school most mornings said he saw squad cars blocking the lot and athletic bags stacked by the door. A parent who had arrived to drop off a sibling said staff kept students inside as investigators worked outside. A district employee said the team’s bus remained idle while officials arranged alternate plans. By midmorning, yellow tape still cordoned off several rows where students typically park for early practices.
By late Friday, deputies said the family of the deceased man was cooperating with investigators as they sorted through the shooter’s background. The sheriff’s office said it would provide the next update after the medical examiner’s office completes preliminary work and once investigators finish interviewing witnesses. No additional threats were reported at the school.
Author note: Last updated January 11, 2026.