[Preacherman]

From Yahoo! News (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030806/ap_on_re_us/sheriff_s_station_shooting_1):

Gunman Killed in Sheriff's Station Attack

Wed Aug 6, 6:28 AM ET

THOUSAND OAKS, Calif. - A man opened fire on a sheriff's department station before being shot and killed in a gun battle with several law enforcement officers who were attending a conference inside, authorities said.

Returning fire from inside the building, behind cars and on hilltops, the officers shot the man dead after a hail of gunfire that lasted more than five minutes, police said. Some deputies suffered minor injuries from shattered glass.

Gregg Hackett, 48, began firing Tuesday morning from the parking lot of the Ventura County Sheriff's Department station, sheriff's officials said.

Officers from several agencies attending a conference at the station returned fire. A helicopter was called and other officers circled Hackett, scrambling behind vehicles for cover.

"Our deputies thought training was going on ... but once they heard glass breaking they realized it was real," said sheriff's Sgt. Renee Ferguson.

It wasn't immediately known how many people were in the station at the time, but officials said about 100 employees are in the building on an average work day.

Hackett fired two large-caliber handguns at once and returned to his car to dodge bullets and reload, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics.

Authorities did not speculate on a motive for the shooting, but said they were not ruling out police-assisted suicide.

"This is not the kind of situation we ever like to be in, but if someone is firing at us there is no question that they are going to get a response," sheriff's department spokesman Eric Nishimoto said.

[seeker_two]

A man opened fire on a sheriff's department station before being shot and killed in a gun battle with several law enforcement officers who were attending a conference inside,

Worst. Timing. Ever. :what:


But I'm glad he was the only one hurt...

:cuss: on him...

[TallPine]

"Our deputies thought training was going on ... but once they heard glass breaking they realized it was real," said sheriff's Sgt. Renee Ferguson.

Sorry, but this just struck me as hilarious ...

That a training exercise would never involve glass being broken.


Anyway, Hackett must have been the stupidest guy in the world, or else he WAS trying to get himself killed.

[10-Ring]

Obviously one troubled individual :rolleyes: Thankfully he didn' hurt anyone during his rampage.

[TheeBadOne]

Quite often when people "lose it" they blame authority, and go looking for it. Any cop/leo will do and in this certainly sounds like the case here. Glad it worked out as well as it did. I feel for the dead man's family as they will no doubt have news cameras shoved in their face 24/7 from heartless reporters looking for anything.

[braindead0]

Wow, just fired off an email to a Deputy friend of mine, I think he's stationed there....maybe get some info.

wowser...

[Standing Wolf]

Suicide by cop.

[Intune]

Sheesh! Just go out in a field and shoot yourself. Hopefully the trauma to the officers may be less because so many were firing. Selfish, selfish, selfish.

[4v50 Gary]

Standing Wolf beat to it. Blue Suicide. This guy just didn't want to live.

[Roadkill Coyote]

Hackett fired two large-caliber handguns at once One too many John Woo flicks?:evil:

[stevelyn]

.........a hail of gunfire that lasted for more than five minutes..............

What ya wanna bet there was a little gratuitous burning of gunpowder on the part of the police?:D :evil:

[buzz_knox]

Someone tried to pull a Terminator in honor of Arnie's run for governor, but forgot he wasn't a nigh-invincible cybord.

[braindead0]

Just got the story from my friend, he wasn't there but I trust his skills in separating BS from fact.

The guy drove into the parking lot, and from 100yds away started firing at random into the side of the building (concrete block).

Whereas every single cop came out and started shooting wildly. There was one L.A. cop who was behind a block wall and just pointing his gun over the wall and firing. There was apparantly roughly 200 rounds fired by the police, and 2 hits on the suspect.

Afterwards a bunch of the officers were high five'ing.. and really proud of themselves. Local papers called them heroes...

There were a couple of officers with the presense of mind to find rifles and shotguns, the rest just kept firing wildly apparantly.

Sounds pretty normal to me...

[TheeBadOne]

Just got the story from my friend, he wasn't there but....
Do we really need to go any further? :confused:

[seeker_two]

Whereas every single cop came out and started shooting wildly. There was one L.A. cop who was behind a block wall and just pointing his gun over the wall and firing. There was apparantly roughly 200 rounds fired by the police, and 2 hits on the suspect.

Apparently the conference wasn't about MARKSMANSHIP...:what:

[TheeBadOne]

Let's see...the stated facts of the case.......

1) Gunman firing from behind cover 100 yards away.

2) Cops return fire at said gunman while under fire, with pistols, 100 yards away.
------------------

So I guess in that combat/ambush situation you'd hit the 10 ring every single time?
Sounds like a tough situation to be in, and a perfect example of the need for the patrol rifle. A shotgun is useless, and pistol way out classed. A rifle is what is warranted. Issue all street officers a rifle.

[seeker_two]

A shotgun is useless, and pistol way out classed. A rifle is what is warranted. Issue all street officers a rifle.

Fully agree with you there... :cool:

However, if someone's out of range, why are you shooting at them if you know you can't hit them (& those bullets are going SOMEWHERE...:what: )

[TheeBadOne]

However, if someone's out of range, why are you shooting at them if you know you can't hit them (& those bullets are going SOMEWHERE
#1) They did hit him.

#2) What backstop did they have? (better know that before you criticize).

#3) I suspect they are much like the average member on this board, and will not "go gently into that good night".

[12-34hom]

Poor fool, sounds like he went to GLOCKFEST to me.....

12-34hom.

[4v50 Gary]

Now that, seeker_two, was funny. :D Bwahahahahahaha!

[braindead0]

Yup, he wasn't there.. but he is stationed there and closer to whatever 'truth' their might be in this incident than the reporters.. that's pretty certain. ;-)

As far as Issuing rifles, that might work.. but.. My friend is a patrol supervisor, and was issued a rifle. But he had to take it to and from home and work everyday, got tired of it and gave it back! If they had provided suitable lockup at the station, it wouldn't have been quite as much hassle I suppose.

[Coronach]

Hackett fired two large-caliber handguns at once and returned to his car to dodge bullets and reload, police said. He was pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics. There is a moral here. Hollywood will get you killed. :D

I agree this was a suicide-by-cop scenario.

Mike

[Chipperman]

A miracle nobody else was hurt by the rounds fired wildly over a wall.

[Coronach]

Now, see...here is where things get fuzzy.

The only report we have of cops firing wildly over a wall was from a THR member's friend, who wasn't there.

Yeah? well, my ex girlfriend's best friend's college roomate was talking once to some guy she met at a bar who had a brother who was there, and HE said that everything the cops were doing was just fine.

Could it have happened that way? Sure. No one has any idea how they'e gonna react under fire until they're under fire, cops included. So its certainly plausible. But it ain't a fact, iff'n you follow me.

Mike

[braindead0]

Yeah? well, my ex girlfriend's best friend's college roomate was talking once to some guy she met at a bar who had a brother who was there, and HE said that everything the cops were doing was just fine.

Yup, by the time it gets here it's certainly hearsay.. But, having known Mike (my friend) for over 20years.. I tend to believe what he said. Note that I didn't attempt to pass this off as first hand experience and made it clear that he wasn't there at the time. His information comes from interviewing those who were there as part of the investigation.. ..

Continually harping on that issue and attempting to turn it into 10th hand experience doesn't seem to provide any useful information...

I coulda simply said he was there, would it make any difference?? No, because I coulda lied! Any logical person will take all information they get from any forum such as this with a grain of salt, I just chose to provide all information I have.

[braindead0]

I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition :evil:

[Johnny Guest]

seeker_two:However, if someone's out of range, why are you shooting at them if you know you can't hit them (& those bullets are going SOMEWHERE... I understood the range was 100 yards. True, this is beyond USUAL handgun range, but bullets do not give up and fall to the ground at 87.65 meters, or whereever.

If the bad guy's exposed and I have cover, or can get to a good prone, I think it is logical to give it a try. I can name a half dozen others who'll agree with me. And if the bad guy goes to his car, the bullet strikes may distract him from shooting at ME!

Suicide by cop? Sure sounds that way. But the cops still have the duty of trying to stop his gunfire. It remains to be seen whether the return fire creates any significant danger. If the bad guy's firing from a schoolyard full of children, then I'd just have to check fire until the situation changed.

Best,
Johnny

[braindead0]

From what I understand of the location (I've been there, it has been years though).. about the only thing in danger were other cars. I believe there were a lot of bullet ridden cars that day....

I'd love to hear the official round count, 5 minutes of shooting....

You know, if suicide wasn't illegal to begin with.. perhaps these people would just quietly off themselves instead.. but if you're going to do something illegal anyway, you might as well go for it.

[Coronach]

Braindead, my comments were not directed at you, but rather at the post immediately prior to mine, wherein your report (which you plainly identified as hearsay, to your credit) was treated seemingly as fact.

My point is that its not fact, its hearsay. BTW, the same criticism can be leveled at the journalist's version of events as well. And I frequently do level that same criticism.

Mike

[braindead0]

My point is that its not fact, its hearsay. BTW, the same criticism can be leveled at the journalist's version of events as well. And I frequently do level that same criticism.
Agreed, and with the increasingly slanted view of journalists... ;-)

The most interesting thing in this thread is the complete lack of 100% verifiable facts, and I have a feeling that we'll never get them. Anybody living in Ventura County wanna try and get the police report(s)?

[Coronach]

Thats mostly because news is NEWS! And after-action reports, where we finally know the facts, are NOT news.

Why report facts when you titilate with pictures of blood on the sidewalk and chalk outlines?

Mike