Graduate Hotel Standoff In Minneapolis Ends After 37 Hours

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — The standoff at the Graduate Hotel on the University of Minnesota campus ended without injury after more than 37 hours. The suspect was taken into police custody just after 1:30 p.m. Tuesday following explosions heard in the hotel.

The suspect has an Arizona-based warrant out for his arrest for a nonviolent felony crime, according to authorities. The standoff began around midnight Monday when police came to the hotel to arrest him.

The suspect safely released a woman from the sixth-floor hotel room he was holed up in late Monday who had been there since the standoff began, police said.

Two people who say they know the suspect told the Star Tribune he is Rashad Bowman, 43. They said Bowman recently lived in Oakdale. His Facebook profile lists his current residence as Woodbury.

Lynette Whitlock told the newspaper that Bowman's warrant is related to printing checks. Whitlock also said Bowman accused her and another woman of stealing his cat.

"Lynette Whitlock and Nicole Cook stole my precious Scarlett I will place a reward for her safe return," Bowman wrote on Facebook. "I love my children... my cats are also like my children."

Video Tuesday morning showed the suspect apparently throwing a microwave out a hotel room window, breaking the glass. Law enforcement began firing tear gas into the suspect's room just before 11 a.m., Minnesota Public Radio's Mark Zdechlik‏ tweeted.

ESPN's Adam Schefter tweeted Monday that the NFL has staff staying at the hotel for the 2018 Super Bowl and Saturday's NFL Honors show. A number of hotel rooms near the suspect were evacuated, but the hotel remained open Monday, authorities told the Pioneer Press.

East Bank roads near the hotel, the Recreation and Wellness Center and the Washington Avenue Ramp were all closed during the standoff.

"Because the situation is contained, there is no direct threat to the campus community," Berthelsen wrote in an email Tuesday morning. "However, we ask that you help us to maintain the safe perimeter and please stay away from these areas."

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