# Matthew Ruge *Burnsville, Minnesota, police officer killed on February 18, 2024, while responding to a sexual assault report.* Matthew Ruge was a [[Burnsville]] police officer. He was killed on February 18, 2024, along with fellow Burnsville officer [[Paul Elmstrand]] and firefighter-paramedic [[Adam Finseth]], while answering a sexual assault report at a home where seven children were present.[^1] The shooter, [[Shannon Gooden]], 38, was barred for life from possessing firearms because of a 2007 Dakota County assault conviction. In 2020 he asked a [[Dakota County court]] to restore his gun rights. Prosecutors opposed the petition, and the court denied it.[^1] He nonetheless had five guns.[^1] On March 14, 2024, [[Ashley Dyrdahl]] of Burnsville was federally indicted for straw-purchasing firearms used in the fatal shooting of the three first responders.[^2] ## Who Ruge served as a Burnsville police officer and was one of three responders killed on February 18, 2024.[^1] The sources compiled for this article name him only in connection with the events of that day. They do not document his service beyond those events.[^1] ## What In Gooden's case, the firearm-prohibition system produced a documented sequence of outputs: - a lifetime prohibition arising from a 2007 Dakota County assault conviction; - a 2020 petition for restoration, opposed by prosecutors and denied by the court; - possession of five guns by the date of the shooting.[^1] The project's Dakota claims matrix also records Dakota County data, reported by Fox 9, showing 27 petitions as of February 2024.[^1] The federal straw-purchase case addresses how the firearms reached Gooden. The indictment against Dyrdahl was announced on March 14, 2024.[^2] CBS Minnesota reported that she was sentenced to 45 months on September 10, 2025.[^3] ## When - 2007: Gooden's Dakota County assault conviction bars him from possessing firearms for life.[^1] - 2020: Gooden petitions a Dakota County court to restore his gun rights. Prosecutors oppose, and the court denies the petition.[^1] - February 18, 2024: Ruge, Elmstrand and Finseth are killed.[^1] - March 14, 2024: Dyrdahl is indicted for straw purchasing.[^2] - September 10, 2025: Dyrdahl is sentenced to 45 months, according to CBS Minnesota.[^3] ## Where The shooting took place at a home in Burnsville, [[Minnesota]].[^1] ## How many - Three responders were killed: two police officers and one firefighter-paramedic.[^1] - Seven children were present at the home.[^1] - Gooden had five guns despite the lifetime bar and the 2020 denial.[^1] - Dyrdahl's reported sentence was 45 months.[^3] ## In the at-issue record The project's Dakota claims matrix lists the killings as entry AI-Dakota-029, under "II. The Use-of-Force Ledger." The entry pairs the February 2024 deaths with the 2020 judicial denial of Gooden's rights-restoration petition.[^1] The entry is anchored to the White House presidential action *Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System* (May 2026).[^4] The project frames the case as one in which "a correctly decided prohibition that the purchase channel ignored is a verification failure at the transaction." That framing is the project's own; it is not a finding of the White House document.[^4] ## Notes [^1]: Fox 9, *Burnsville gunman wanted his firearm rights restored; this is why the system blocked him* (2024) — reports the February 18, 2024, deaths of Burnsville officers Matthew Ruge and Paul Elmstrand and firefighter-paramedic Adam Finseth; Gooden's lifetime bar from a 2007 Dakota County assault conviction; his 2020 restoration petition, prosecutors' opposition and the court's denial; his five guns; and Dakota County data of 27 petitions as of February 2024. https://www.fox9.com/news/burnsville-gunman-wanted-his-firearm-rights-restored-this-is-why-the-system-blocked-him [^2]: Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, *Burnsville woman indicted for straw purchasing firearms used in fatal shooting of three first responders* (Mar. 14, 2024) — establishes the federal straw-purchase indictment of Ashley Dyrdahl. https://www.atf.gov/news/press-releases/burnsville-woman-indicted-straw-purchasing-firearms-used-fatal-shooting-three-first [^3]: CBS Minnesota, *Ashley Dyrdahl sentencing, Burnsville first responder shooting* (Sept. 10, 2025) — reports Dyrdahl's 45-month sentence. https://www.cbsnews.com/minnesota/news/ashley-dyrdahl-sentencing-burnsville-first-responder-shooting/ [^4]: The White House, *Restoring Integrity to America's Financial System* (May 2026) — the presidential action to which at-issue entry AI-Dakota-029 is anchored. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/05/restoring-integrity-to-americas-financial-system/