Posted on 05/20/2007 10:04:59 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
MOSCOW, Idaho - An officer who was shot responding to a gunman spraying bullets at a courthouse died of his injuries Sunday, police said.
Law enforcement officers stormed the church Sunday where the gunman hid after shooting three people, including the officer, in an ambush late Saturday, police said. They found the body of the likely gunman and another man, police said.
The shooting also wounded another officer and a civilian, said David Duke, Moscow's assistant police chief. The name of the officer killed was not immediately released.
Duke said the attack was apparently an ambush, with the shooter firing into the Latah County Courthouse to lure people into the line of fire. A total of 75 shots were fired, he said.
latest update
Officer among 3 dead in Idaho shootings
JOHN K. WILEY, AP
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070521/ap_on_re_us/idaho_shootings
MOSCOW, Idaho - A sniper sprayed dozens of bullets on a courthouse, killing a police officer and wounding a sheriff’s deputy and a civilian, then apparently killed a caretaker and himself Sunday in a nearby church, police said.
Investigators believe the shooter deliberately fired into an emergency dispatch center inside the Latah County Courthouse late Saturday to lure people into the line of fire. The officer was killed as he rushed to the courthouse, and the deputy helped pull the officer out of the way before being shot, said David Duke, Moscow’s assistant police chief.
Shortly after 6 a.m., three SWAT teams entered the First Presbyterian Church and found the bodies of the shooter and another man, Duke said. An assault rifle, ammunition and spent shells were found next to the gunman’s corpse, he said.
The shooter died of what appeared to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, Duke said. His body was found in the sanctuary, and the body of another man was found in the church office. The second man also dead of gunshot wounds, Duke said.
Authorities did not release either man’s name, but the church’s pastor, Rev. Norman Fowler, identified the victim inside the church as Paul Bauer, a sexton believed to be in his 60s who lived at the church.
Police said the gunman started shooting from a parking lot across from the courthouse shortly after 11 p.m. A hail of more than 30 bullets ripped through the county’s dispatch center, Duke said. Dispatchers were moved to the jail area of the courthouse.
“Whoever the shooter is wanted to draw people to the courthouse,” Duke said. “When officers responded, he did open fire on them.”
Lee Newbill, the first officer at the scene, was hit around 11:35 p.m. Saturday, Duke said. Newbill had served with the police department since March 2001 and is the city’s first officer killed in the line of duty.
Deputy Brannon Jordon, a 17-year veteran, was shot shortly after midnight as he took cover behind a tree after pulling Newbill out of the line of fire, Duke said. Jordon was in serious condition with multiple gunshot wounds, the assistant chief said.
Authorities did not release the name of the injured civilian, but said he lived in the neighborhood and had gone outside after hearing the gunshots. The man was undergoing surgery and was in stable condition.
Police had no information about the gunman’s motive.
“He was just shooting at anybody he could,” Duke said.
Four empty magazines were found outside the church. Duke initially estimated that 75 shots were fired, but later said it was not clear how many shots the gunman fired.
None of the officers who responded returned fire, Duke said.
Officers surrounded the church, which is across the street from the courthouse and nestled in a residential neighborhood near downtown and Moscow High School. A final shot was heard from inside the church about 1 a.m. Sunday, Duke said.
Streets in the area had been barricaded and residents had been told to stay inside their homes.
With the church still a crime scene late Sunday morning, members of the congregation shed tears for Bauer and prayed for the other shooting victims, including the gunman, at a service in a building on the nearby University of Idaho campus. They said Bauer was a constant grandfatherly presence at the church and was always smiling.
Doniel Hoskins, who lives with her mother in an apartment about three blocks from the courthouse, said the neighborhood was jarred awake by the gunshots. It wasn’t until Sunday afternoon that she learned one of the victims was Bauer, who stayed at the same homeless shelter as her family late in 2005.
“He treated me like I was his niece,” she said, adding her mother had recently sent Bauer an invitation to her mother’s wedding. “I knew it would be him because he was the only one living in that church.”
Moscow, a community of about 20,000 people, is 80 miles south of Spokane, Wash.
UPDATE:
This link includes and updated timeline, hypertext links and videos.
http://www.ktvb.com/news/localnews/stories/krem2_052007_timeline.89bee27b.html
Idaho News
“Timeline: Church sniper shooting events”
07:35 PM MDT on Sunday, May 20, 2007
It’s the most liberal town in Idaho.
Bingo. You got that right!
If they’re in need of armor for cover, they ought to strike up a deal with the local cash carriers. Like the brinks guys. They’re all over the place. They all kinda cover each other anyway. Saves some tax payer bucks.
Visited with a friend of Lee Newbill’s today. I had no idea this had happened. Newbill took the police position after retiring from the Army.
Dang.
He died serving, which is as honorable as it comes.
I’ll keep his family held up in prayer.
I was actually referring to use of armor for local, small departments and their ability to use existing armored cars instead of purchasing dedicated armored vehicles at tax payer expense. And yes, being a cop in todays world is dangerous, as there is no shortage of angry, crazy people
We now have a Standing Army, exactly in opposition to the Founders' wishes.
Rifles used
AK-47 type rifle
M1A
Jason Hamilton
Convicted violent offender
Involuntary mental hold
Domestic abuse offender, felony strangulation
Banned from firearms ownership
Killed his wife, a courthouse employee...
Duke keep saying AK-47 & SKS... I figure he has no idea what the difference is...
go to KREM and check out the live update
UPDATE:
(Note: 1 photo and videos included)
http://www.kxly.com/news/?sect_rank=1§ion_id=559&story_id=11220
“Moscow shooter had a history of violence”
KXLY.com Staff
Last updated: Monday, May 21st, 2007 05:09:37 PM
Latah County Sheriff’s Office
Moscow shooter Jason Hamilton
Related Videos:
Moscow shooter had a history of violence
Related Stories:
• Weapons used in ambush were civilian version of military rifles
• Wounded deputy’s condition improves
• UI student wounded in weekend ambush
• Timeline of the ambush in Moscow
• Devoted church groundskeeper killed in Moscow ambush
• Sound Off: Condolences to the Moscow community
• Husband, father, former Army Officer killed in Moscow shooting
Related Links:
• Officer Down Memorial Page for Lee Newbill
ARTICLE SNIPPET: “MOSCOW — Jason Hamilton, the gunman who killed three people and wounded two others before taking his own life in Moscow over the weekend, had a violent history and once told a psychiatrist if he were to commit suicide he would take a large number of people with him.
Moscow Assistant Police Chief David Duke said Monday morning that Hamilton, 36, had a long criminal history and had undergone a court-ordered mental evaluation in February in Lewiston. During that evaluation Hamilton talked about his thoughts on homicide and suicide and said that if he did commit suicide, he would try and take a large number of people with him.
After authorities confirmed Jason Hamilton’s identity troopers with the Idaho State Police went to his home at 1020 Julienne Way to conduct a welfare check on his wife Crystal. Inside a bedroom they found Crystal dead from a single gunshot wound to the head.”
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