BRAINERD, Minn. — Officials are still piecing together what happened before a 35-year-old Brainerd man allegedly shot another man and then the kidnapping of a pregnant woman and her children.

At approximately 1:50 a.m. Friday, Nov. 1, Crow Wing County Sheriff’s deputies responded to a shooting on Loerch Road in Oak Law Township, east of Brainerd. Deputies arrived to the area and found, along with a burned shed, an adult male deceased in the driveway from an apparent gunshot wound.

The victim was later identified as Lyle Maske, 62, Brainerd.

Law enforcement has identified Chad Aanerud as a suspect in the shooting. Following the shooting, Aanerud allegedly walked down the street to his girlfriend’s home, shot a shotgun into the ceiling and took her and her four children against their will from a residence on Loerch Road, leaving the scene in -a 2017 white Chrysler Pacifica.

Those taken were identified as a 33-year-old pregnant woman and four minors, aged 14, 11, 7 and 3. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension issued a statewide Amber Alert about the kidnapping around 6:30 a.m. Friday.

During a news conference Friday afternoon, Crow Wing County Sheriff Eric Klang said Aanerud was in custody at the Crow Wing County Jail.

“I just want to make a note of appreciation for the Amber Alert,” Klang said. “The Amber Alert worked exactly as it was supposed to. When he was dispatched this morning, it was a very skilled Morrison County resident who located that vehicle and matched it to that Amber Alert. He was able to call law enforcement and within a short time a Morrison County Deputy and State Trooper located that vehicle in that area and were able to stop the vehicle and take the individual into custody.”

The sheriff’s office reported it believed the shooting death and apparent kidnapping were related, but did not provide additional information about the connection.

At approximately 7:15 a.m., the vehicle was located and stopped by law enforcement in Morrison County. Klang said that due to the Amber Alert, the vehicle was spotted after repeatedly driving up and down the same road.

Aanerud was apprehended without incident and the five kidnapped individuals were located unharmed in the vehicle.

Klang said the motive for the shooting and kidnapping is still under investigation, but the department has had interactions with Aanerud in the past.

At around 11 a.m. Friday, Brainerd High School Principal Andrea Rusk sent a letter to the students’ parents informing them of the updated Amber Alert, which said the children and mother had been found safe.

The children were all students in the Brainerd School District, Rusk said.

“The district and Brainerd High School are teaming up to support students, families and staff,” Rusk said in the email. “Our thoughts are with the families at this difficult time. We want to assure you that the safety of our children is our top priority.”

Klang said the children and mother are receiving care through community services.

The Brainerd Police Department, Brainerd Fire Department and the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension assisted at the scene.

Aanerud’s criminal record

Aanerud’s criminal history includes multiple convictions for felony charges, including third-degree criminal sexual conduct, failure to register as a predatory offender, threats of violence, theft and multiple counts of third-degree burglary.

Most recently, Aanerud was charged July 26 in Crow Wing County District Court with threats of violence and domestic assault after allegedly threatening a family member and another person with a knife. He also threatened to set the family’s house and cars on fire.

According to the criminal complaint filed in that case, the victims told a Crow Wing County sheriff’s deputy that Aanerud threatened to cut their throats with a knife and that during the altercation he said he was “going to do it again methamphetamine”.

A plea hearing in the case is scheduled for Nov. 14.

In 2008, Aanerud was charged with third-degree criminal sexual conduct against a 15-year-old victim in Brainerd. In 2011, he received a suspended sentence from the court, was sentenced to 150 days in jail and placed on 15 years of supervised probation. He violated his probation in that case in 2011 and twice in 2012. In 2013, he was sentenced to 36 months in prison with 10 years of parole after incarceration.

In 2018, he was convicted in Crow Wing County District Court of knowingly violating registration requirements or providing false information as a predatory offender and sentenced to 31 months in prison.

In 2010, Aanerud was charged in Crow Wing District Court with third-degree burglary and theft. In 2012, he was sentenced to 15 years in prison, which was suspended while he served five years of supervised probation.

On a separate 2010 charge of third-degree burglary in Crow Wing County, Aanerud initially received a suspended prison sentence, but after twice violating his probation requirements he was sentenced in 2013 to 21 months of prison.

Aanerud faced a third charge in Crow Wing County for felony third-degree burglary in 2010, in which, after violating his probation requirements, he was sentenced to a year and a day in prison. The sentence was served concurrently with the previous sentence.

In 2021, Aanerud was charged in Aitkin District Court with threats of violence. In 2022, he was sentenced to 29 months in prison, which was suspended by the court while he served 180 days in jail and five years of supervised probation.

In that case, Aanerud was accused of calling and sending threatening messages to his ex-girlfriend and her mother. Among the threats, Aanerud told his ex-girlfriend that he would come get her, that he would watch her every move and that he would not stop calling and texting her. When an Aitkin police officer told Aanerud to stop, Aanerud replied, “That’s not going to happen,” according to the criminal complaint.