{"id":72221,"date":"2026-11-07T16:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-11-07T22:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/?p=72221"},"modified":"2026-11-07T06:06:07","modified_gmt":"2026-11-07T12:06:07","slug":"audubon-man-faces-3-felonies-after-rifle-shooting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/audubon-man-faces-3-felonies-after-rifle-shooting\/","title":{"rendered":"Audubon Man Faces 3 Felonies After Rifle Shooting"},"content":{"rendered":"

AUDUBON, Minn.<\/strong> (trfnews.i234.me<\/a>) \u2013 An argument over a child’s pet rabbit allegedly escalated into gunfire in Audubon, leaving a man injured.<\/p>\n

Brandon Paul Szalay, 43, of Audubon<\/strong>, faces three felony charges after allegedly pointing an AR-15-style rifle at another man.<\/p>\n

According to a criminal complaint filed in Becker County District Court, Szalay fired several rounds toward the ground near the victim.<\/p>\n

The incident occurred October 20, 2026, at approximately 3:29 p.m.<\/p>\n

Dispute Begins Over Daughter’s Pet Rabbit<\/h2>\n

According to court documents, Audubon police and Becker County deputies responded to a residence following reports of shots fired.<\/p>\n

The victim told investigators he went to Szalay’s residence after discovering that Szalay’s dogs had killed his daughter’s emotional support rabbit.<\/p>\n

The two men reportedly began arguing about the dogs and the rabbit.<\/p>\n

During the confrontation, the victim said he tossed the dead rabbit over a fence.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, Szalay then went inside his residence and returned carrying an AR-15-style rifle.<\/p>\n

Rifle Allegedly Pointed at Man Before Gunfire<\/h2>\n

The victim told investigators that Szalay initially pointed the rifle directly at him.<\/p>\n

Szalay then allegedly lowered the weapon toward the victim’s feet and fired multiple rounds.<\/p>\n

According to the complaint, four bullets struck the ground around the victim.<\/p>\n

Another round reportedly struck the upper portion of a fence, while a separate bullet hit a tool on the ground.<\/p>\n

The gunfire allegedly sent gravel and debris toward the victim’s legs.<\/p>\n

The victim suffered an injury to his left leg, believed to have resulted from a bullet fragment.<\/p>\n

The complaint does not indicate that the victim was directly struck by a bullet.<\/p>\n

Police Arrest Suspect Outside Residence<\/h2>\n

When authorities arrived, they found Szalay standing outside the residence.<\/p>\n

He was taken into custody without a further confrontation described in the complaint.<\/p>\n

According to court documents, an officer noticed a strong odor of alcohol coming from Szalay.<\/p>\n

After being advised of his Miranda rights, Szalay requested an attorney.<\/p>\n

Authorities then obtained a search warrant for the residence.<\/p>\n

\"Brandon<\/a>
Brandon Paul Szalay<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Six Firearms and Ammunition Recovered<\/h2>\n

During the search, investigators reportedly discovered five spent shell casings near the residence’s front step.<\/p>\n

Inside the home, officers located six firearms, including three rifles and three pistols.<\/p>\n

Police also recovered firearm components, magazines, and containers of ammunition.<\/p>\n

The discoveries became part of the evidence supporting the criminal charges.<\/p>\n

Szalay was transported to the Becker County Jail following his arrest.<\/p>\n

Previous Felony Convictions Cited<\/h2>\n

According to the complaint, Szalay has two previous felony controlled substance convictions.<\/p>\n

The first involved attempted second-degree controlled substance sale, with a conviction dated June 8, 2006.<\/p>\n

The second involved fifth-degree controlled substance possession, with a conviction dated February 19, 2008.<\/p>\n

Prosecutors allege these convictions prohibit Szalay from possessing firearms and ammunition.<\/p>\n

Three Felony Charges Filed<\/h2>\n

Szalay faces three felony charges in Becker County District Court.<\/p>\n

Count 1:<\/strong> Second-degree assault with a dangerous weapon under Minnesota Statute 609.222<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The charge carries a maximum possible sentence of seven years in prison, a $14,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

Count 2:<\/strong> Possession of a firearm by a person prohibited due to a qualifying prior conviction.<\/p>\n

Count 3:<\/strong> Possession of ammunition by a person prohibited due to a qualifying prior conviction.<\/p>\n

The firearm and ammunition charges fall under Minnesota Statute 624.713<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Each carries a maximum possible sentence of 15 years in prison, a $30,000 fine, or both.<\/p>\n

The complaint also references Minnesota’s firearm sentencing provisions under Minnesota Statute 609.11<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Case Filed in Becker County Court<\/h2>\n

The case is filed in Minnesota’s Seventh Judicial District under court file number 03-CR-26-2065<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

The criminal complaint lists an order of detention.<\/p>\n

All three charges stem from the October 20 incident in Audubon.<\/p>\n

The accusations have not been proven in court. Szalay is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.<\/p>\n

I’m Adrian Cole reporting for TRF News<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

An Audubon man faces three felonies after allegedly firing a rifle near another man during a dispute over a pet rabbit, leaving the victim with a leg injury.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":72222,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_wpscp_schedule_draft_date":"","_wpscp_schedule_republish_date":"","_wpscppro_advance_schedule":false,"_wpscppro_advance_schedule_date":"","_wpscppro_dont_share_socialmedia":false,"_wpscppro_custom_social_share_image":0,"_facebook_share_type":"","_twitter_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type":"","_pinterest_share_type":"","_linkedin_share_type_page":"","_instagram_share_type":"","_medium_share_type":"","_threads_share_type":"","_bluesky_share_type":"","_mastodon_share_type":"","_google_business_share_type":"","_selected_social_profile":[],"_wpsp_enable_custom_social_template":false,"_wpsp_social_scheduling":{"enabled":false,"datetime":null,"platforms":[],"status":"template_only","dateOption":"","timeOption":"","customDays":"","customHours":"","customDate":"","customTime":"","schedulingType":""},"_wpsp_active_default_template":true},"categories":[12],"tags":[2166,913,27867,13594,11029,1208],"trf_mt_town":[],"trf_mt_county":[],"trf_mt_topic":[29493],"trf_mt_series":[],"class_list":["post-72221","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-crime","tag-audubon","tag-becker-county","tag-brandon-paul-szalay","tag-court-sentencing","tag-drug-charges","tag-shooting"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72221","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=72221"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72221\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":72223,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/72221\/revisions\/72223"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/72222"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=72221"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=72221"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=72221"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_town","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_town?post=72221"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_county","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_county?post=72221"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_topic","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_topic?post=72221"},{"taxonomy":"trf_mt_series","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/trfnews.i234.me\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/trf_mt_series?post=72221"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}