Quote (Akaris @ Sun, 6 Sep 2009, 00:57)
What started as a call for help to prevent a suicide before sunrise Saturday produced a shootout between a Shelbyville man and three Mattoon Police officers.
Matthew D. Thomas, 26, was wounded and later taken for treatment to Sarah Bush Lincoln Health Center, Mattoon Police Chief Dave Griffith said, citing information from a preliminary investigation. The three officers and a female plus two children in a Apartments residence were not wounded.
“This started as a domestic dispute with a girlfriend. They’d been having difficulties over the last few days,” Griffith said during a telephone interview hours after the incident. “When the officers arrived the subject confronted the officers with a handgun and there was a brief standoff before they exchanged gunfire.”
The shooting involved Thomas and three officers in Mattoon. The initial 911 call for assistance came from a female at Apartments at 4:43 a.m. Saturday. While the officers were en route they were told a man was threatening to commit suicide.
Several rounds were fired by Thomas and the officers, Griffith said. Thomas was wounded in the gunfight but then created another standoff in a section of the apartment. Officers also worked to remove the female and two children from the apartment, Griffith said.
Barricaded within the apartment, Thomas refused to surrender. The Coles County Tactical Response Team was called to the scene and police negotiators, including Mattoon officers, worked to resolve the crisis without further violence.
After about one hour, Thomas surrendered to law officers and was taken for treatment in the hospital. Griffith termed his wounds “not life-threatening.” No other injuries were reported from the incident.
Griffith explained the case is still under investigation with Illinois State Police working on the shooting because MPD personnel were involved in that exchange. Other agencies assisting MPD in the investigation are Coles County States Attorney’s office, Coles County Sheriff’s Department, and Lake Land College Police. Charges are pending against Thomas as the state's attorney office reviews police reports and evidence, Griffith said.
“We’re still working to answer some questions on this. We expect to have more information later,” Griffith concluded Saturday.
TLDR Version: Kids got out ok, he got like three rounds into him
jeeeesus...
crazy
at least the kids are okay
though theyre probs gonna need concilling and all :S
Quote (Akaris @ Sun, 6 Sep 2009, 01:02)
It was just crazy to me because its something i always hear about, and for it to happen next door freaked my shit out
yeahh man, you always just imagine it in films and stufff :S
This post was edited by Titch on Sep 6 2009 03:48am