The woman was at the top of a staircase inside her office building in North St. Paul the afternoon before Thanksgiving when her ex-husband walked in with a shotgun and a question.
“Do you have any last words?” he asked.
At first, she didn’t understand what was happening, the woman later told police. When he asked the question again, she ran.
That is part of the account outlined in a Ramsey County criminal complaint filed Wednesday afternoon charging John Bruce Steurer with one count of second-degree attempted murder.
The 47-year-old St. Francis man is accused of chasing his ex-wife, Deanna Steurer, down the staircase at Anchor Mold and Tool Co. just before 2:30 p.m. Nov. 23 and shooting her as she neared the bottom, causing her to fall, the complaint said.
Standing above her, John Steurer allegedly pumped the shotgun to shoot again but the gun failed to fire, court documents say. The delay gave Deanna Steurer the chance to get up and flee.
The chase continued outside to the office building’s loading dock area. There, Deanna Steurer attempted to grab the shotgun out of John Steurer’s hand, she told police.
At some point during the struggle, she said she caught sight of the gun’s safety and believes she engaged it, the complaint said.
Unable to get the gun to work, John Steurer reportedly started punching his ex-wife and grabbing her hair. She managed to escape and fled back into the building, locking the door behind her.
Once inside, she called 911. Bleeding, she waited in a stairway for paramedics to arrive.
John Steurer was arrested sometime later in Anoka County after shooting himself during a standoff with law enforcement. He was taken to Hennepin County Medical Center in Minneapolis and treated for a wound to his head.
He is expected to survive, according to North St. Paul police Capt. Dustin Nikituk.
Deanna Steurer was taken to Regions Hospital in St. Paul and treated for a collapsed lung, an injury to her small intestine and “other injuries associated with the shotgun blast,” the complaint said.
Reached Tuesday, she declined to comment about what had happened.
SHE’S CREDITED WITH HER SURVIVAL
Nikituk credited Deanna Steurer’s courage and quick thinking for her survival.
“She fought back and was able to prevent another round from going off, which essentially saved her life,” Nikituk said. “Being able to stay focused during a time of chaos like that, it was really amazing.”
The couple had divorced just weeks before the incident after 23 years of marriage, court documents say.
Their relationship had been rocky. Deanna Steurer got an order for protection against her then-husband in 2008. She filed for a restraining order against him in late September, citing his unrelenting attempts to contact her despite her repeated requests for him to stay away, legal documents say.
John Steurer also made threatening comments, showed up at her home while she was away, took her dog and vandalized her car after she served him with divorce papers this past spring, she said in her petition.
The order, which was granted in early October, specifically mandated that John Steurer stay away from his ex-wife’s home, her office at Anchor Mold and Tool Co. and her parents’ home.
He already had violated it three times before the shooting Nov. 23.
Hours after it happened, Steurer reportedly left a message on Deanna Steurer’s phone explaining his motivation.
“I’m sorry I had to do that to you. … I can’t have you being with another guy, so that’s what I had to do. Bye,” his message said, according to the criminal complaint.
“It sounds like they had been in this relationship since high school and he is just a very controlling individual, which turned into a divorce and then … he became more aggressive,” Nikituk said about the events leading up to the shooting. “She eventually had to take steps with the judicial system (to protect herself), and he kept violating them and as a result lost his job, and then his mental state just kept declining and declining until we get to this point. … It’s just a tragic situation.”
None of John Steurer’s relatives could be reached for comment Wednesday.
John Steurer was expected to be booked into the Ramsey County Jail on Wednesday evening.
His criminal record includes three violations of a harassment restraining order and traffic offenses.
ENDING RELATIONSHIPS A DANGEROUS TIME
Last year, at least 22 women and three men died as a result of domestic violence in Minnesota, according to the Minnesota Coalition for Battered Women’s 2015 Femicide Report
Partners planning to leave a relationship affected by domestic violence, those in the act of leaving and people who have recently left them all face an increased risk of homicide by their abusive partner, said Liz Richards, executive director of the organization.
“Of course then we always get the question, ‘Well, does that mean I shouldn’t leave?’ ” Richards said. “Absolutely not. But it does mean you should be thinking about and planning to be able to do it the safest way possible.”
She added that women and men who sense they might be in danger should trust their instincts and seek help. She also encouraged people who know men and women who are abusive to their partners to talk to them about their behavior.
“Are there family members around the perpetrator of the violence who would be willing to talk to them and say, ‘Look, this relationship is over. I care about you. I don’t want anything bad to happen. I think you need some help,’ ” Richards said. “We aren’t very accustomed to having those kinds of conversations with people who use violence.”
Anyone facing immediate danger is encouraged to call 911. Victims can also call the Minnesota Domestic Violence Crisis Line 24 hours a day at 1-866-223-1111.
A list of resources for those seeking services specifically in Ramsey County, including shelters and crisis hotlines, can be found at http://bit.ly/2gHrYRs.