UPDATED: Mother shot by juvenile daughter

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St. Louis County Sheriff's Office News Release

Name: Victim - Adult female Age: 40

Name: Suspect - Juvenile age:


Incident Summary:
On January 16, 2022, at approximately 1626 hours, St. Louis County 911 received a call regrading a female who was en-route to the Cook Hospital with a gunshot wound. The suspect was reported to be a female juvenile family member who was last seen at the residence where the shooting was reported to have taken place. As law enforcement were en-route to the address it was learned that the suspect had access to a vehicle.

Deputies located a vehicle matching the description that the suspect had access to, stuck in a ditch, approximately 2 miles north of the address where the shooting was reported to have occurred. Deputies also observed another vehicle near the suspect vehicle, which contained three occupants. Deputies were able to detain the three individuals and subsequently positively identify one of them as the shooting suspect.

Deputies learned that the other two individuals were mother and daughter good Samaritan who lived in the area had been summoned by the suspect for help. The good Samaritan’s were questioned and released by law enforcement after determining they had no knowledge of the shooting incident.

The suspect was transported to St. Louis County Courthouse in Hibbing for additional processing.

The victim, who was learned to be the suspects mother, was transported to a Duluth area hospital for additional medical treatment and is believed to be in stable condition.

This incident is currently actively being investigated by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s office.

This shooting is believed to be an isolated incident and no additional suspects are being sought by law enforcement nor is public believed to be in any danger.


Authority: Sgt. Eric Hanegmon Date: 01-16-22 Time: 9:28 PM

Additional Information or Update:
UPDATED AS OF 10:00 A.M./01-18-2022: The victim is being identified as Stephanie L. Straw age 40 of rural Cook, MN. The suspect, who is the daughter of Straw, is being held at the Arrowhead Juvenile Center in Duluth pending formal charges by the St. Louis County Attorney's Office in Hibbing, MN. The press release will be updated once formal charges are filed in Hibbing District Court. Straw's current medical status is unknown, but she was in stable condition when she was transported by ambulance to a Duluth hospital. Again, this was an isolated incident that occurred within the family home on the 9200 block of Range Line Rd. in Morcom Township and there is no threat to public safety related to this incident. The investigation is on-going by the St. Louis County Sheriff's Office in Hibbing.

UPDATED AS OF 12:00 P.M./01-18-2022: The suspect is being identified as 16 year old Charlize R. Bjorhus of rural Cook, MN. Bjorhus has been formally charged in St. Louis County Juvenile District Court in Hibbing, MN with Attempted Murder in the Second Degree. Bjorhus is scheduled to appear in court today on the charges.

Petition:

The man immediately identified his girlfriend's 16-year-old daughter as the shooter, saying she did it intentionally. Deputies drove toward the residence, but found the teen on a road a short distance away, having gotten stuck in a ditch while attempting to drive off.

Deputies arrested the girl, who admitted to them she had shot her mother.

An investigator then went to Cook Hospital to talk with the mother. The 40-year-old said that prior to the shooting, she had taken away the teens methamphetamine, and that the teen had asked for it back.

The mother said she was then laying in her bed when she heard a loud "pop," followed by a "bang." It felt like her back had exploded, and she realized she'd been shot.

She got up and confronted her daughter, who was still pointing a handgun toward her.

To keep her daughter from pulling the trigger again, the mom said she returned the methamphetamine to her daughter, then called her boyfriend for a ride [SIC] to the hospital.

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A girl under the age of 18 has been arrested in connection to shooting her mother in Morcom Township, Sunday 16 January 2022.

Authorities received a call around 4:30 pm stating they are taking a 40 year old to the hospital and had been shot by her juvenile daughter. When police arrived, the juvenile was no where to be found. She was located 2 miles away from the home stuck in the ditch.

The victim was taken to Cook hospital then transferred to a Duluth Hospital. She is in stable condition.

This incident is under investigation by the St. Louis County Sheriff’s office.