Owen Jean Dietrich

Three people had to be rushed to the hospital after being assaulted and suffering from gunshot wounds at a house in Beltrami County.

On April 18, at about 2:39 AM, Beltrami County Sheriff’s Office deputies and investigators responded to a report of multiple assaults with a weapon on Silver Maple Road in the city of Puposky in Beltrami County.

Upon arrival, deputies observed three victims with injuries, including at least two with gunshot wounds. The victims were rushed to the hospital to be treated for their injuries.

According to the criminal complaint, all three victims were sleeping when one of them woke up to a loud noise and sharp pain on the side of his head. After the male victim was fully awake, he saw the suspect, known as Owen Jean Dietrich, 19, standing at the foot of his bed with a gun. The victim displayed several injuries including gunshot wounds and abrasions on his chest.

The second victim woke up after hearing yelling and screaming and saw Dietrich standing over her with a gun, as he then started to hit her. The third victim, who was sleeping on a couch in the living room, woke up to her head hurting and ears ringing. She stated that she touched the top of her head and saw blood on her hand. She then proceeded toward the stairs for help when she saw a male (Dietrich) coming down the stairs with a blunt object. The victim stated that when Dietrich reached the bottom of the stairs he struck her on the top of her head with the object.

Deputies attempted to locate Dietrich before receiving an update that a white van was located in the ditch off of Highway 89 on the Red Lake Reservation. Officers with the Red Lake Police Department had located Dietrich in the area and detained him until Beltrami County deputies arrived.

Dietrich was taken into custody and was transported to the Sanford Bemidji ER to be medically cleared. Once cleared from the ER, Dietrich was transported to the Beltrami County Jail and advised of his Miranda rights.

Dietrich did provide a statement to investigators and admitted to hitting and shooting the victims.

Dietrich is charged with one count of burglary in the first-degree, two counts of second-degree intentional attempted murder and one count of second-degree assault.

By — Destiny Wiggins