A gunman armed with multiple weapons opened fire in the lobby of an Idaho sheriff’s office and on the street in front, this Friday (26), injuring three people before being killed in a clash with security forcesaccording to the local sheriff.
The shot at a pickup truck outside the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office in Wallace before entering the lobby and inside the station toward the dispatch center, county Sheriff William Eddy said at a news conference.
The attack prompted a large police mobilization, with a SWAT team and several agencies responding to the incident around 2:40 p.m. PT, the sheriff’s office said.
An officer-involved shooting followed, and the suspect was pronounced dead at 4:15 p.m., Eddy said. There was no information available about the identity of the shooter or his motivation.
According to the sheriff, the injuries of the three people shot were considered minor. Two women in the truck were hit in the leg, and a police officer suffered a gunshot wound to the ear.
Initial reports indicated the suspect may have gained access to the jail, Kootenai County Sheriff Robert Norris said, which “intensified” law enforcement’s response.
“This is a pretty significant event when a person walks into the lobby of a sheriff’s office and starts a shooting,” Norris said.
The suspect apparently remained in the lobby, and people in the jail were not injured, Eddy said.
At least eight law enforcement agencies assisted the Shoshone County Sheriff’s Office, according to Eddy.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office and Coeur d’Alene Police Department will handle the criminal investigation, while the Idaho State Police will investigate the officer-involved shooting.
Wallace, Idaho, is about 70 miles east of Spokane, Washington state.
Wallace resident Julie Swindell-Ward told the CNN KXLY who was at the grocery store across the street when he heard someone comment about an armed person in the sheriff’s department.
“I went out to the parking lot and saw sheriff’s cars coming with their lights on,” she told the station. “And as I was approaching my car, I heard the gunshots.”
She said it was a surprising thing to witness in such a small town, especially on a quiet Friday.
