BEMIDJI - A drunken gathering at a trailer home in northern Minnesota devolved into a major brawl that left one man dead and two people with serious injuries, the Beltrami County sheriff said Friday.
Two people have been arrested on murder charges after the Thursday night incident.
The suspects - an 18-year-old man and 29-year-old woman, both from Cass Lake, Minn. - were booked into the Beltrami County Jail on felony second-degree murder and other charges in connection with the death of Leslie Headbird, 44.
Authorities visited the house in Ten Lake Township, east of Bemidji, twice on Thursday, and the first time they found about 15 people who were "just bombed out of their minds," Sheriff Phil Hodapp said. Two people were arrested who had blood-alcohol contents of at least 0.40 percent, a potentially fatal level that's five times the legal limit to drive.
A few hours later, just after 6:30 p.m., deputies returned to the home to investigate a report of a brawl. They found a number of people "who were bleeding and in various states of distress." Hodapp said.
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Emergency officials tried to revive one of the victims, but Headbird was pronounced dead shortly after being taken to a hospital. Two other victims, a male and female, were also hospitalized with serious injuries. Hodapp said both would likely be released over the weekend. A fourth person was treated for a minor injury.
Officials at Sanford Bemidji Medical Center, where two of the injured were taken, locked the facility down overnight after hearing rumors of a possible retaliatory attack against one of the victims. Hospital spokeswoman Kari Knudson said Friday that an attack didn't happen.
The lockdown began Thursday at 8 p.m. and was lifted Friday at 6 a.m., she said. During a lockdown, all doors are locked and guarded by law enforcement, and all visitors have to be cleared by security.
Shortly after the brawl, the 18-year-old suspect was found in Cass Lake after he tried to break into a residence and stopped a car on the street in an attempt to steal it.
He was arrested by Cass County sheriff's deputies and taken to the Sanford Bemidji Medical Center for minor injuries. It's unclear when the other suspect was arrested.
Of the two people arrested during officers' first visit to the home, one is a man who had a court order prohibiting him from drinking alcohol. The other is a woman who was arrested for child endangerment after her young son was found amid the drinkers wearing a shirt but no pants.
The boy, whose age was not immediately available, was placed with social services, the sheriff said.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
