Gunman Killed in Alleged Hostage Situation in Powell

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By Penny Preston

Story Published: Feb 9, 2012 at 8:05 PM MDT

Story Updated: Feb 10, 2012 at 8:15 AM MDT

POWELL, WYOMING - Police shot a Powell man in a shootout at a motel in the northwest Wyoming city Thursday morning. Police did not release the suspect's name, but said he was pronounced dead at the Powell hospital.

The gunman was reportedly holding hostages in a motel room and shooting into the parking lot several times during the four-hour standoff before a Powell officer returned fire.

Police got the call around 3:00 a.m. that a man was holding hostages in a downtown motel, and that shots were heard. Powell, Cody, and Park County officers responded.

Powell Police Chief Roy Eckerdt said, “Contact was made with the suspect. The suspect self-reported that he had hostages.” Chief Eckerdt added that the suspect also said he had weapons. Eckerdt explained, “We were able to confirm a .357 handgun. The suspect claimed also to have an SKS assault rifle and a .9 mm.”

Eckerdt says police evacuated a one-block area around the motel. He says more shots were fired. He said, “Shots were being fired from the building to the outside.”

The police chief said the suspect made demands, and they were able to talk briefly to someone else in the room, but more than four hours after the standoff began, it ended. Eckerdt said, “Ultimately, there was contact made between the suspect and the responding officers and at 0725 officers engaged with the suspect.”

The man was taken to Powell Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Wyoming's Department of Criminal Investigation is investigating the shooting as standard procedure. Eckerdt said they plan to talk to witnesses who were moved to the motel next door.

One woman, who would not reveal her last name, said she was like a mother to the gunman she called Rick. The woman, called Diane, claimed his hostage was not really a hostage. She said, “She was willing to stay. This is his girlfriend, that was his girlfriend, so the hostage thing is not true.”

Chief Eckerdt says the gunman was the one who reported he was holding hostages, “I can’t confirm or deny who the hostage was at this point.”

The officer, who also remains unnamed, is on administrative leave until the DCI and Powell police investigations are complete.

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kma said on Saturday, Feb 11 at 2:37 PM

one less to deal with

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