$100,000 Reward for Information on Cold Spring Shooting - Valley News Live - KVLY/KXJB - Fargo/Grand Forks

Spotlight on Crime today announced a reward of up to $100,000 for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the individual or individuals responsible for the shooting death of Cold Spring Police Officer Tom Decker. Officer Decker was shot and killed just before 11 p.m. on November 29. Investigators have not identified Decker's killer and have not found the gun believed to be the murder weapon.

Investigators hope the reward encourages someone to come forward with information. Investigators are also urging Minnesotans, particularly residents who live in the Cold Spring area of Stearns County, to walk their properties in search of a 20 gauge shotgun.

Officer Tom Decker, 31, was shot and killed just before 11 p.m. on Thursday, November 29 behind Winner's Bar on Main Street in Cold Spring as Decker conducted a welfare check at a nearby apartment. Officer Decker died at the scene. Investigators with the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and the Stearns County Sheriff's Office believe Officer Decker was killed with a 20 gauge shotgun. However, despite an extensive investigation and search, authorities have not identified Decker's killer or recovered the murder weapon.

Anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact the Stearns County Sheriff's Office at 877-782-5683 or the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension at 877-996-6222 or bca.tips@state.mn.us.

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In honor of slain police officer Thomas Decker, Minnesota's Governor has ordered all U.S. and Minnesota flags to be flown at half-staff at all state and federal buildings from sunrise until sunset Wednesday.

State officials estimate several thousand people are attending a funeral service for slain Cold Spring police officer Tom Decker. The Minnesota Department of Public Safety says the estimated 3,200 people at St. John's Abbey and University Church in Collegeville include about 2,300 law enforcement officers from around the U.S. and Canada.
   
Officers saluted Decker's hearse as it arrived at the church Wednesday morning. After the service, a procession of officers will escort his casket through the community Decker served and to St. Nicholas Catholic Cemetery in Luxemburg where he will be buried.

The 31-year-old police officer was a native of Cold Spring, and a six-year veteran of the police department there. Decker was fatally shot Thursday when he was called to check on a man's welfare. No charges have been filed in his death.