August 1, 2012
Aug 2, 2012 22:21:13 GMT -5
Post by Road Warrior Shark on Aug 2, 2012 22:21:13 GMT -5
I'm writing this more for myself than anything else. Feel free to ignore.
Last night a little before 6:30 pm. My youngest daughter Brittany and my nephew were at the city park walking her dog & hanging out. She called my wife at 6:23 and said she thought she had heard a gunshot. (Our house had been broken into the night before - nothing taken) so Bridgette assumed she was exaggerating or something and told her not to worry about it.
Across the street from the park, Reagan County Deputy Josh Mitchell had gotten out of his vehicle and was about to approach a house to speak with the person living there. The man inside the house shot him with a hunting rifle.
What ensued was the most surreal night/day of my life. I was working at the jail. and noticed the dispatch office was busy. I was busy too, booking in an inmate that had just been dropped off to me. Deputy Mitchell had just called and spoken to the deputy filling out paperwork. He left and was en route when the shooting happened.
The shooter barricaded himself inside his home. Naturally, every deputy in the department responded, as did Deputies from at least 4 surrounding counties, the Texas Rangers, The Dept of Public Safety (Highway patrol) and two nearby SWAT Teams. Over the next 17 hours, several city blocks were evacuated, DPS helicopters swarmed overhead, and word quickly spread about the incident. Calls came flodding in the office as people wondered what was going on, how was Deputy Mitchell, and when could they go home.
On the scene, Deptuy Mitchell was taken to the local hospital, but being such a small town, they are unable to handle any surgical procedures, and he was rushed to the nearest Hospital (70 miles away) He died en route.
That word got to the Office around 8pm. Naturally, there were alot of tears and emotions, but also, there were still phones to be answered and communications to be handled. By this time several other dispatchers and jailers had arrived, although there was little else to be done but sit around and wait.
The Swat team attempted to go in at one point as the night wore on, but they were shot at repeatedly, and retreated, A swat TANK was later sent for and brought in.
So we waited hours on end with no news, other than the shooter was alive, and had a small stockpile of various weapons in the home, according to his father. Power and utilities to the home and surrounding ones was cut off. Helicopters continued to fly low over the scene and news media began pouring in.
Word came around 3 am that they were backing off for the night, waiting for Texas Rangers to bring in members of a specialized team to ensure everything was set up correctly. Negotiators were flying in.
This morning, negotiations began in earnest. About 11 am, Stun Grenades were launched inside the home and the tactical forces stormed in. The shooter was found in a closet with a self inflicted gunshot wound to the face. He was taken to the same hospital and transferred to the same nearby facility Deputy Mitchell was en route to when he passed.
As of now, the wounds are called serious and it is up in the air weather or not he survives.
Naturally, working in the Jail, and being such a small county... current population estimates are about 7000 for the whole county, about 4 for Big Lake itself, I knew Josh fairly well and worked with him quite a bit. The way our Sheriff Department is set up, the Dispatch office is where the Deputies and Jailers usually spend their down time in, so there is quite a bit of interaction between Jail staff, Dispatchers and Deputies besides work. JOsh was a good guy, kind of goofy, and had the biggest redneck accent you have ever heard. He was just a good ol' boy from West Texas. He had been working in the Sheriff's office either in the Jail or on the streets since he graduated. His wife is a Nurse at the hospital.
I can't say I was friends with Josh, I wasn't But I liked him well enough and he was a very good Deputy. Not just because he made a lot of arrests, but he showed the compassion needed for the job. He had a big heart and was always smiling.
I personally, am alright. I haven't lived here very long, so I wasn't as close to him as so many of the others are. They're the ones that are really crushed by this. My worry came when Bridgette called and told me where my daughter was at the time.
Anyway, That's whats been going on the past few days. Here's the best summary the media has, but of course, they don't know all the details yet
www.kwes.com/story/19173856/update-deputy-killed-in-big-lake-standoff-suspect-in-custody
Thanks.
Last night a little before 6:30 pm. My youngest daughter Brittany and my nephew were at the city park walking her dog & hanging out. She called my wife at 6:23 and said she thought she had heard a gunshot. (Our house had been broken into the night before - nothing taken) so Bridgette assumed she was exaggerating or something and told her not to worry about it.
Across the street from the park, Reagan County Deputy Josh Mitchell had gotten out of his vehicle and was about to approach a house to speak with the person living there. The man inside the house shot him with a hunting rifle.
What ensued was the most surreal night/day of my life. I was working at the jail. and noticed the dispatch office was busy. I was busy too, booking in an inmate that had just been dropped off to me. Deputy Mitchell had just called and spoken to the deputy filling out paperwork. He left and was en route when the shooting happened.
The shooter barricaded himself inside his home. Naturally, every deputy in the department responded, as did Deputies from at least 4 surrounding counties, the Texas Rangers, The Dept of Public Safety (Highway patrol) and two nearby SWAT Teams. Over the next 17 hours, several city blocks were evacuated, DPS helicopters swarmed overhead, and word quickly spread about the incident. Calls came flodding in the office as people wondered what was going on, how was Deputy Mitchell, and when could they go home.
On the scene, Deptuy Mitchell was taken to the local hospital, but being such a small town, they are unable to handle any surgical procedures, and he was rushed to the nearest Hospital (70 miles away) He died en route.
That word got to the Office around 8pm. Naturally, there were alot of tears and emotions, but also, there were still phones to be answered and communications to be handled. By this time several other dispatchers and jailers had arrived, although there was little else to be done but sit around and wait.
The Swat team attempted to go in at one point as the night wore on, but they were shot at repeatedly, and retreated, A swat TANK was later sent for and brought in.
So we waited hours on end with no news, other than the shooter was alive, and had a small stockpile of various weapons in the home, according to his father. Power and utilities to the home and surrounding ones was cut off. Helicopters continued to fly low over the scene and news media began pouring in.
Word came around 3 am that they were backing off for the night, waiting for Texas Rangers to bring in members of a specialized team to ensure everything was set up correctly. Negotiators were flying in.
This morning, negotiations began in earnest. About 11 am, Stun Grenades were launched inside the home and the tactical forces stormed in. The shooter was found in a closet with a self inflicted gunshot wound to the face. He was taken to the same hospital and transferred to the same nearby facility Deputy Mitchell was en route to when he passed.
As of now, the wounds are called serious and it is up in the air weather or not he survives.
Naturally, working in the Jail, and being such a small county... current population estimates are about 7000 for the whole county, about 4 for Big Lake itself, I knew Josh fairly well and worked with him quite a bit. The way our Sheriff Department is set up, the Dispatch office is where the Deputies and Jailers usually spend their down time in, so there is quite a bit of interaction between Jail staff, Dispatchers and Deputies besides work. JOsh was a good guy, kind of goofy, and had the biggest redneck accent you have ever heard. He was just a good ol' boy from West Texas. He had been working in the Sheriff's office either in the Jail or on the streets since he graduated. His wife is a Nurse at the hospital.
I can't say I was friends with Josh, I wasn't But I liked him well enough and he was a very good Deputy. Not just because he made a lot of arrests, but he showed the compassion needed for the job. He had a big heart and was always smiling.
I personally, am alright. I haven't lived here very long, so I wasn't as close to him as so many of the others are. They're the ones that are really crushed by this. My worry came when Bridgette called and told me where my daughter was at the time.
Anyway, That's whats been going on the past few days. Here's the best summary the media has, but of course, they don't know all the details yet
www.kwes.com/story/19173856/update-deputy-killed-in-big-lake-standoff-suspect-in-custody
Thanks.