ALEXANDRIA - Authorities say a man and a woman from North Dakota are dead after exchanging gunfire with a deputy in west-central Minnesota.

The Douglas County deputy was shot in the chest after answering a suspicious vehicle report but was wearing a bullet-resistant vest and survived.

The suspects — a 29-year-old woman and a 24-year-old man — tried to escape in a car but got stuck in the snow. The suspects then ran away and fired more shots.

A Minnesota State Patrol helicopter used an infrared imaging device to locate the suspects in the woods. Deputies approached the suspects and found they were both dead. Two firearms were recovered.

Autopsies will be conducted on the suspects. The deputy was treated at a hospital and released. He was placed on standard administrative leave.

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