Minot Woman Held at Gunpoint by SWAT Team

Lynette Bintliff, of Minot, has fled her apartment to stay with her parents after a traumatizing ordeal on Sunday afternoon (Nov 29), when her home was stormed by a SWAT team and she was held at gunpoint for the better part of an hour.

According to KFYR TV, Bintliff says she was "just lying in bed" when suddenly her front door was violently broken down and men with guns stormed in. Says Bintliff:

Just the door got kicked open really loud and all I saw was a gun, one of those long-barreled guns. A storm of SWAT team members came running in and they had their guns pointed at me and one of them tackled and handcuffed me.

Bintliff was terrified, explaining that she had no idea what was going on. Besides this incident, she has never had a run-in with police in her life.

SWAT team members held a handcuffed and tearful Bintliff at gunpoint for a very long 40 minutes. Worse, she wasn't given any information about what was happening to her until police showed up.

As it turns out, the incident was a result of a murder investigation in the area. Says Minot Police Chief Jason Olson:

The warrant for that apartment was supported with a probable cause reviewed by a state attorney and a judge, as all the warrants were... I'm not able to speak about an ongoing investigation. There was reason why a warrant was served at that residence. She is not facing any charges and is not considered a suspect.

Bintliff is considering pressing charges, and is asking for an apology, stating:

I don't think I deserve to have my door busted in, having guns pointed at me, and they threatened to kill my dogs, and they were making fun of the way I screamed, laughing at how high-pitched it was and chatting like nothing was going on out there while I was in here crying. I still didn't know what was going on. They still hadn't told me anything.

The fatal shooting that spurred this decidedly drastic action by authorities is to find those responsible for murdering Roger Falana, 30, and injuring an unnamed 43-year-old female about 12 hours before Bintliff's apartment was stormed. If you have any info on this case, police encourage you to report it at (701) 852-0111.