Offsite gun threats lead to Triton secure lockdown

A man accused of threatening to shoot people sent Dodge County deputies to a home in Dodge Center, and sent Triton Schools into a secure status.
The incident began about 1:30 p.m. Friday, with a report of a man in Dodge Center who was armed, intoxicated and making threats.
The man, later identified as Michael Majerus, 46, was outside the home on Third Street Northeast when deputies arrived; what appeared to be a high caliber rifle was leaning against a vehicle in the driveway.
According to the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office, an agitated Majerus picked up the rifle and walked around the house, saying he wanted deputies to shoot him.
Officers from the Kasson Police Department and the Minnesota State Patrol responded to help establish a perimeter around the house so Majerus wouldn’t leave the property.
The Dodge County School Resource Deputy advised administration at Triton to go into the secure lockdown about five minutes after the incident was reported.
The protocol directs students and staff to get inside the building and lock all exterior school doors; normal school activities continue inside the building. It is used when there is a threat or hazard outside the school building.
The administration notified families.
Shortly after 2 p.m., Majerus went inside the home, carrying the rifle; his two adult sons were in the house.
A few minutes later, one of the sons came outside to let deputies know his brother had tackled Majerus and was holding him down.
Majerus was taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital-Saint Marys Campus in Rochester for evaluation, then to the Olmsted County Adult Detention Center.
He made his first appearance Monday in Dodge County District Court, where he was charged with one count each of felony terroristic threats and misdemeanor domestic assault.
Majerus was conditionally released without bail and is due back in court Feb. 23.
No shots were fired and no injuries were reported; the lockdown at Triton was lifted at 2:14 p.m.
The DCSO recognized the actions of Majerus’s sons, saying the incident “could have ended tragically without (their) heroic actions.”