Attorney General Jackley Announces Watertown Man Convicted in 2024 Officer Involved Shooting Incident

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, Jan. 30, 2026

Contact: Tony Mangan, Communications Director, 605-773-6878

PIERRE, S.D. – South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley announces a Watertown man has been convicted of three charges in connection with an officer involved shooting that occurred Dec. 5, 2024 in the parking lot of the Yankton High School.

Andrew Jondahl, 41, was convicted by a Yankton County Circuit Court Jury Friday on two felony counts of Aggravated Assault on a Law Enforcement Officer, and one misdemeanor count of Possession of a Firearm on Public Elementary or Secondary School Premises. He faces a maximum prison sentence of at least 50 years combined on the felony counts when he is sentenced at a later date.

“This defendant’s actions put the lives of law enforcement officers and the public at risk,” said Attorney General Jackley. “The actions of the law enforcement officers that evening kept the outcome from becoming even more tragic.”

The incident began when the Yankton Police Department was called to Yankton High School following a report that Jondahl was seated in a vehicle in the school parking lot with a firearm across his lap. He had been escorted from a school event, appeared to be intoxicated, was making threats of self-harm, and was believed to have had a long gun in his lap.

When Jondahl exited the vehicle, he was holding shotguns and facing the officers in a manner where he could have fired at the officers. Two officers discharged their firearms, firing a total of 14 .223-caliber rounds. Jondahl sustained non-life-threatening gunshot wounds. No other injuries were reported.

The case was investigated by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation (DCI), which found the Officer Involved Shooting was justified and was prosecuted by the Attorney General’s Office.

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