Winona, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Winona man today entered into a plea agreement for a shooting near the Winona State University campus last fall.

The criminal complaint filed against 27-year-old Cole Cameron indicates that Winona police were called to an apartment building near the campus in the early morning hours of October 17, 2024 after receiving a report of a man with a gun. That was followed by another report that someone had been shot on the third floor of the building.

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The responding officers reported finding Cameron leaning over another man on the floor with a gunshot wound to his chest. The court document says Cameron stated, without being asked, "I shot him."

According to the criminal complaint, a witness told investigators that he heard two men arguing in the hallway and saw Cameron go into his apartment and emerge holding a handgun. The witness stated that he heard Cameron yelling at the victim to get away from him and threatened to "pump him full of lead."

READ MORE: Charges – Argument Between Intoxicated Men Led to Winona Shooting

The court document says the witness then described how he went back into his apartment and recorded audio of the altercation on his cell phone. Investigators indicated the recording captured Cameron yelling, "do you want me to pull the trigger?" That was followed by the voice of another man, believed to be the victim, who yelled "pull it" just before a gunshot was heard.

The evidence listed in the complaint also included partial video of the violent confrontation that was recorded by a Ring surveillance camera. The document says the shooting victim sounded extremely intoxicated and a preliminary breath test conducted on Cameron put his blood-alcohol-concentration at .2.

A statement issued by Winona police following the shooting indicated the victim was airlifted to a La Crosse hospital for emergency surgery and was listed in critical condition following the shooting.

Cameron was charged with first-degree assault and intentional discharge of a firearm. Under the terms of his plea agreement, Cameron today entered a guilty plea to a second-degree assault charge in exchange for the dismissal of the other charges, as well as a misdemeanor fifth-degree assault charge stemming from an earlier incident.

The plea deal includes a joint agreement for a sentence following state guidelines, which call for a three year prison term. Cameron is scheduled to be sentenced in June.

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