MOSCOW, Idaho – A gunman went on a shooting rampage in this quiet college town Saturday night, killing a police officer and wounding a sheriff's deputy and a civilian before taking refuge in a church.
Early yesterday, SWAT units stormed the church and found the bodies of the gunman and another man, who was believed to be the church caretaker.
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. He also died of gunshot wounds, Duke said.
Authorities did not release either man's name, but the church's pastor, the 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 had no information about the gunman's motive.
Police said the gunman started shooting from a parking lot across from the courthouse shortly after 11 p.m. Saturday. 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.
Moscow police were notified at 11:31 p.m., and Officer Lee Newbill and another officer set off on foot for the courthouse from the police station about five blocks away.
Newbill, who was hit around 11:35 a.m., had served with the police department since March 2001 and is the city's first officer killed in the line of duty.
Sgt. Brannon Jordan, a sheriff's deputy and 17-year veteran, was wounded when he went to Newbill's aid. The civilian, whom the police did not identify, was believed to be a nearby resident who approached the scene to offer help. Jordan was reported in serious condition with multiple gunshot wounds. The resident who was shot had undergone surgery and was in stable condition.
Duke said the police did not return fire during the barrage because the gunman's location was never established.
After the attack on the courthouse, the gunman fled to the First Presbyterian Church across the street from the sheriff's department. The police said that a final, single, muffled gunshot was heard about 1 a.m. from the church.
With the church still a crime scene yesterday 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.
Moscow is about 80 miles south of Spokane, Wash., and is home to 22,000 residents and the University of Idaho.
