Authorities in the Iron Range community of Virginia, Minn., on Friday released body-worn camera and squad car video of Ethan Roy Basche’s fatal encounter with a police officer.
According to a preliminary investigation from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension, Basche, 31, was holding a torch lighter when Virginia Police Lt. Henry Trunk shot him just before 8:30 a.m. on May 1. In a news release accompanying the video, Virginia police noted that the lighter “was consistent with the appearance of a firearm.”
The BCA previously said that Trunk had responded to a report of a man wearing a ski mask and walking along Second Avenue West “holding and waving what appeared to be a handgun.”
On the video, Trunk is seen stopping his squad car in the middle of the street and can be heard ordering Basche to put his hands in the air.
After Trunk shouts the command a second time, Basche raises his arm and points the lighter in Trunk's direction. Trunk pauses for about a second, then fires three shots from behind his open squad car door. Basche spins 360 degrees before lying on the ground.
The two videos released by Virginia Police can be seen here.
Basche’s obituary describes him as having a “larger than life” creative presence and who enjoyed “the simple life” on the Iron Range.
St. Louis County courts have civilly committed Basche five times, beginning in 2020. According to a 2022 order from Judge Rachel Sullivan, Basche had diagnoses including schizophrenia, antisocial personality disorder, and severe methamphetamine use disorder.
In a September 2025 civil commitment order, Judge Bhupesh Pattni noted that Basche had a “documented history of delusional thoughts, paranoia, hallucinations, including command hallucinations that are suicidal and homicidal in nature” and had been unsuccessful with treatment.
A year earlier, Pattni wrote that Basche “expressed that he feared for the life of his mother and for his own safety and that he believed he was being hunted by unknown persons.” In the order, the judge also noted that Basche reported using methamphetamine “to stay up all night to protect his mother and himself.”
A celebration of Basche’s life is scheduled for May 23 at True Hope Fellowship in Virginia.
The BCA continues to investigate the shooting and is expected to send its findings to the St. Louis County Attorney’s Office for review.
