Police: 2 lawmen, 2 civilians shot; shooter cornered

CNN ^ | 20 May 2007 | CNN

[Erik Latranyi]

MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) -- Two law enforcement officers and two civilians were wounded and police said early Sunday morning that they believe they have the shooter cornered in a church. Police declined to release the condition of the people who had been shot, and few details were immediately available. David Duke, Moscow assistant police chief, said a city police officer and a Latah County sheriff's deputy were shot late Saturday night or early Sunday morning near downtown. Two civilians were also shot. Duke said the victims were shot with automatic weapons. Dozens of law enforcement officers surrounded the First Presbyterian Church in downtown Moscow, where the shooter or shooters are believed to be, Duke said. The incident began around 11 p.m. Saturday, when someone began shooting at the Latah County Courthouse, Duke said. Streets in the area have been barricaded and residents have been told to stay inside their homes. Moscow, a community of about 20,000 people that is home to the University of Idaho, is located 80 miles south of Spokane, Washington.

[Erik Latranyi]

Use of the word 'sniper' coming into use by the left-wing media.

[BlueSky194]

David Duke, Moscow assistant police chief.

When did he become the assistant police chief in Russia.

[Hazcat]

This is the line that bothers me.

Duke said the victims were shot with automatic weapons.

AUTOMATICS??

[TLEIBY308]

I wander what mohhamed the shooters last name is?

[Uncle Ike]

FNC remains, of course, oblivious...

Maybe if it was that Paris lady, or hollywood, they’d at least mention it......

(Please post updates — I, for reasons of health, will not watch CNN....)

[Erik Latranyi]

Duke said the victims were shot with automatic weapons.

Another uneducated police chief throwing around words without regard to their meaning.

[Uncle Ike]

” Another uneducated police chief throwing around words without regard to their meaning “

Or not....

He may be completely accurate — there’s just not enough FACTS (remember those?) available for this kind of presumption.......

[Hazcat]

I sincerely hope so. Of course whether it is false or not the word is out there and will be played up by the MSM.

[Erik Latranyi]

He may be completely accurate — there’s just not enough FACTS (remember those?) available for this kind of presumption.......

You are correct. I meant to type "Depending on the facts, this is just another uneducated police chief throwing around words without regard to their meaning."

However, do you want to bet that it is an automatic? I would not put my money on it.

[Uncle Ike]

” However, do you want to bet that it is an automatic? I would not put my money on it. “

I wouldn’t put money either way, at this point....

Although, FNC (yes, they finally did get around to mentioning it) isn’t using the phrase ‘automatic weapons’ in their coverage, so far...

[Hazcat]

Shortly after 6 a.m., three SWAT teams entered the First Presbyterian Church and found the two bodies on the main floor, Duke said. A semiautomatic rifle, ammunition and spent shells were found with one of the men, he said.

This is at the same CNN link.

[El Gato]

Duke said the victims were shot with automatic weapons.

Another uneducated police chief throwing around words without regard to their meaning.

Perhaps not in this case. The photos at KREM.show an awful lot of shell casing in small areas, and lots of fairly closely spaced holes in police cars. The pattern of the hits are similar to what one would expect of a light automatic weapon. The shell casings are bottle necked, and too long compared to their diameter for 7.62x25. So most likely an automatic rifle or carbine. Some of the holes in the police SUV looked too big for 5.56mm, but pictures can be deceiving.

In Press conference, they ID the weapon as SKS type, but maintain it was an automatic. A local reporter knew that the SKS is a semiautomatic weapon, and called the deputy police chief on that. They say 4 empty magazines were found outside the Church. Presumably at least one more inside.

[El Gato]

As of the press conference, they still do not know who the shooter was. I get the impression that it was *hours* after the last shot was fired, about 1 AM, before they assembled *3* entry teams from around the state and finally stormed the place at around 5:30.

And remember this was right across the street from the sheriff's office and the county jail. Once again, call for a pizza and call for the police, see which gets there first.

[El Gato]

The police officers and one civilian who were shot *outside* the church were all shot a few minutes before and after midnight!. But they didn't storm the church until about 5:45 am. That last shot, around 1 AM was probably the killer shooting himself. No offices fired any shots. The civilian shot outside was coming to the aide of the officers. He's in stable condition. One officer killed, the other in critical condition, all as of the press conference.

They deployed 4 sniper teams, one entry team assaulted from one end of the church while another created a diversion at the other end. They tried to "negotiate" via bullhorn, but likely the killer had been dead at least 4 hours by then.

They are asking for the public to provide any information they might have on the motive and/or identity of the killer.

Thus the killer seems to be a stranger, leaving open the possibility of SJS (Sudden Jihad Syndrome), although it seems, to me, to be not very likely. As of 1:35 PM, KREM has ID'd the victim inside the church as the church caretaker, Paul Bauer, who was known as the "Grandfather of the Church".