HINCKLEY, Minn. — A man in Pine County is charged with murder after authorities say he shot his father at a hunting cabin last week.
The victim of the Nov. 15 fatal shooting has been identified as Kirk Edward Hazlett II, who died from multiple gunshot wounds, according to charges filed Monday.
His son, Kirk Edward Hazlett III, faces multiple felony charges for his role in his father's "execution-style" shooting death at a family hunting cabin in Hinckley, Minnesota.
According to the criminal complaint, Hazlett II, his brother and another man were staying at the cabin while hunting. Prior to the shooting, a trail cam on the property alerted them that a man - soon identified as Hazlett III - was approaching with a gun in hand. The surviving witnesses say Hazlett III then "busted through" a cabin door and began firing at his father before the other men could react.
Hazlett III shot his father multiple times in the upper body before standing over his father and shooting him in the head "execution-style," according to a witness account of the shooting.
“He entered with a mission... he entered to kill him,” the witness allegedly told police.
Court documents note a strained relationship between the father and son, with Hazlett II's brother saying the two hadn't been getting along for a long time. Hazlett III had been trespassed from the property a month earlier after police were called to intervene in a dispute between the two.
The two witnesses who saw the shooting unfold told investigators they feared Hazlett III would kill them next, but were able to convince the alleged shooter to let them go after surrendering their phones. When Hazlett III let them leave, the men ran to the home of a neighbor who helped them call 911.
Police located Hazlett III later at his Cambridge residence, where they took him into custody.
Hazlett III is currently in Pine County Jail and made his first court appearance Monday.