An altercation in Chisago County led to a truck being vandalized and the homeowner accidentally discharging a firearm, according to the Lakes Area Police Department.
Law enforcement was called to a residence just after midnight Tuesday with the report of someone vandalizing the homeowner's pickup truck with red paint. As officers and Chisago County Sheriff's Deputies arrived at the residence, the homeowner discharged a single round from his handgun.
In an interview with law enforcement, the homeowner said that he had exited his home with a revolver in one hand and a spotlight in the other. He told police that he accidentally pulled the trigger while trying to turn on the spotlight.
The homeowner told authorities that he had been threatened several hours earlier by possibly the same person as the suspect who was with another individual. The earlier incident had been reported to the Lakes Area Police Department by the homeowner, but a press release said that no suspects had been located at that time.
The suspect, 47-year-old Kristofer Kowalski of Lindstrom, was later found intoxicated with fresh red paint on his clothes by Lakes Area Officers after fleeing the scene in a vehicle. Kowalski was arrested and booked into the Chisago County Jail for gross misdemeanor DWI, driving with a canceled license, criminal damage to property, and threatening the homeowner.
