Shots Fired Into Comm Center

Police in Moscow (Idaho) say that someone began firing shots into the Latah County sheriff’s courthouse communications center Saturday night at about 11:30 p.m. The shooting was first reported by the three on-duty dispatchers, including a trainee, when they came under fire from somone in a nearby parking lot, apparently shooting through a window. The three were safely evacuated into the jail area with the assistance of two deputies who were inside the building. However, Moscow police Lt. Lew Newbill was shot and killed by the gunman as he arrived at the courthouse to investigate, the city’s first officer killed in the line of duty. A sheriff’s sergeant and civilian were also wounded in the area of the courthouse. Police surrounded a nearby church, where the gunman apparently had fled after the initial shots. At about 6:30 a.m. Sunday morning police SWAT teams entered the church, and found the suspect and the sexton of the church dead, along with an “SKS-type” rifle and ammunition. The sexton was reportedly shot as he was holding a phone after dialing 911, but it’s not clear if a dispatcher was on the line. Sheriff Wayne Rausch said the center suffered damage from the rifle rounds, including bullet holes to walls and equipment. During a press conference he said the center was “operational,” but that it was now a crime scene, so dispatching operations had been moved to an alternate center at the driver’s license bureau.