MADDOCK, N.D. – A standoff between an unidentified armed male suspect and local law enforcement that lasted several hours on Thursday, June 25 ended with the suspect surrendering and taken to a hospital for treatment of a self-inflicted head wound that appears to have happened prior to the incident.
According to a press release from the Benson County Sheriff’s Office, at approximately 9 a.m., Sheriff Laura Wanzek responded to a call from a resident in rural Maddock that a male suspect had stolen a pickup truck from an outbuilding on the property and got stuck in a creek near the property line. Wanzek arrived on scene and observed the suspect in the driver’s seat with the window cracked open; she attempted verbal commands to have the suspect exit the vehicle when he began waving a handgun out the vehicle window and attempted to cover the window with a black garbage bag. Wanzek retreated for cover and called in for assistance; she also instructed the property owners to vacate the property for their own safety.
For about three hours, the suspect remained in the vehicle pointing the weapon at the driver’s door in the direction of BCSO officers and other law enforcement staged outside. Negotiations were attempted with a drone via its PA system with no success for the suspect to surrender.
A Minot Police Department SWAT team arrived on scene with an armored BearCat vehicle to attempt negotiations and non-lethal actions to apprehend the suspect, who soon exited the pickup truck and surrendered without incident. The suspect suffered from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head and was transported and later airlifted to a hospital to receive medical care. No officers or other civilians were harmed during the incident.
The male was identified by officers with a drone as Joseph Tracy of Maddock, N.D. According to an update from BCSO, Tracy’s medical status is alert, conscious, and stable and is currently receiving medical aftercare from surgery.
The incident remains under investigation by North Dakota Bureau of Criminal Investigations (BCI).
BCSO extended thanks for the assistance of the following agencies who responded: Minot Police Department, Pierce County Sheriff’s Office, Wells County Sheriff’s Office, Rugby Police Department, ND Bureau of Criminal Investigations, Lake Region Narcotics Task Force, ND Highway Patrol, Lake Region UAS team, Ramsey County Sheriff’s Office, Lake Region Law Enforcement Center Dispatch, Maddock Fire Department, Maddock Ambulance, and Towner County Ambulance.
This story, originally published on June 30, 2026, was updated on July 2, 2026.