Man arrested after alleged stabbing incident in Albert Lea

Albert Lea Stand Off, One Victim Stabbed

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(ABC 6 News) – At around 10:25 on Jan. 9, Freeborn County Dispatch received reports that a 23-year-old man was stabbed in the leg by a another man at Garfield Avenue in Albert Lea.

When they arrived, first responders found the 23-year-old victim outside a residence on Garfield Avenue and rendered first aid.

The victim was then transported to Mayo Clinic Health System in Albert Lea for non-life-threatening injuries.

The South Central Drug Investigation Unit’s SWAT team was then requested to assist in the situation.

This block of Albert Lea is usually a peaceful one but just this morning this quiet neighborhood was swarmed by law enforcement with things quickly turning into a multi-hour stand-off.

Officers established a perimeter around the residence which officers believed the suspect was in, due to an electronic ankle bracelet locating the suspect.

Officers made multiple attempts to communicate with the suspect using officer’s PA systems.

No contact was accomplished.

Nearby schools, Grace Lutheran Church and Thorne Crest Senior Living Community were informed of the incident, adding no firearms were believed to be available to the suspect.

SWAT then executed a breach and extraction plan. At 1:28 p.m., SWAT breached residence and safely apprehended the suspect at 1:30 p.m. Law enforcement did not discharge any fire arms in their attempts to arrest the suspect.

The suspect, 24-year-old Efren Estrada, was taken to Freeborn County Adult Detention Center and awaits a felony second-degree assault charge.

It’s crazy, it was never like this when I was a kid. This town is getting worse everyday,” said DeWayne Carlsgaard, a resident of Albert Lea. “It’s something different, you don’t see something like this everyday in Albert Lea. But something like this, you never want to see it in a town like this. Especially around a school, a church, a nursing home.”

Both Hawthorne Elementary and Thorne Crest Senior Living have since lifted their enhanced security protocols. As for the victim – he has currently being treated at Mayo Clinic in Albert Lea – and is expected to recover from his injuries.