Swat teams as firefighter killed--not far from my office

[SaintLouieWoman]

Firefighter dead, 2 police officers shot in Maplewood

A sharpshooter with the Missouri Highway Patrol waits on alert on the porch of a house on the 7400 block of Zephyr Place this morning as a gunman remains holed up in the area.
(Christian Gooden/P-D)

By Patrick M. O'Connell, Kim Bell and Carolyn Tuft
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/21/2008

UPDATED, 10:14 a.m.

MAPLEWOOD -- A rookie firefighter was killed and two police officers were wounded when a gunman opened fire in Maplewood early today. The gunman might still be holed up in a burning home, and police sharpshooters have swarmed the neighborhood near South Big Bend Boulevard and Zephyr Place.

The dead firefighter has been identified as Ryan Hummert, 22. Hummert was fatally shot as he got out of a Maplewood fire truck as it arrived at the scene of a vehicle fire about 5:45 a.m. today.

Meanwhile, a Maplewood police officer is in critical condition at another area hospital. The bullet struck the officer's badge, which may have saved his life, a hospital spokeswoman said. A second Maplewood police officer was shot in the right shoulder. He is being treated, but his condition was unavailable.

It all started unfolding before 6 a.m. today, when firefighters were responding to a vehicle fire on Zephyr Place. The house fire started shortly after that. Officers surrounded the home, believing the gunman was inside.

Three hours later, dozens of police cars from a mix of area departments were still there. Many of the officers are crouching behind police cars with their weapons drawn. The St. Louis County police explosives unit rolled up after 9 a.m., as did an armored vehicle from the U.S. Marine Corps. FBI agents were suiting up in tactical gear.

snip

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...6?OpenDocument

Very weird this week. Last week had heard of the big accident on a nearby highway and discovered a friend had been killed instantly and now this.

This thing is still going on. The firefighters can't totally put out the house fire, as someone is in there shooting at them. The one firefighter was killed.
Then I heard the morning anchor on our local NBC affiliate interviewing a neighbor on the phone. The police had tried to get folks moved out of there, but with the "suspect" sniping, many had to stay in their homes and were warned to stay down and away from the windows.

The person being interviewed was the "officiant" who had married SR and me. She's a lovely woman who works full time at a local university. I hope she stays safe. They said that the fire department is training hoses on the immediate houses near the shooter, to try to prevent fires.

I don't think the shooter is facing a good outcome, with the Mo Highway Patrol swat team, the FBI, and the Marines armored tactical vehicles there. I'm just praying that no neighbors get hurt and no more police or firefighters injured.

Frankly, I don't give a damned about the "suspect".

[megimoo]

Firefighter dead, 2 police officers shot in Maplewood

A sharpshooter with the Missouri Highway Patrol waits on alert on the porch of a house on the 7400 block of Zephyr Place this morning as a gunman remains holed up in the area.
(Christian Gooden/P-D)

By Patrick M. O'Connell, Kim Bell and Carolyn Tuft
ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH
07/21/2008

UPDATED, 10:14 a.m.

MAPLEWOOD -- A rookie firefighter was killed and two police officers were wounded when a gunman opened fire in Maplewood early today. The gunman might still be holed up in a burning home, and police sharpshooters have swarmed the neighborhood near South Big Bend Boulevard and Zephyr Place.

The dead firefighter has been identified as Ryan Hummert, 22. Hummert was fatally shot as he got out of a Maplewood fire truck as it arrived at the scene of a vehicle fire about 5:45 a.m. today.

Meanwhile, a Maplewood police officer is in critical condition at another area hospital. The bullet struck the officer's badge, which may have saved his life, a hospital spokeswoman said. A second Maplewood police officer was shot in the right shoulder. He is being treated, but his condition was unavailable.

It all started unfolding before 6 a.m. today, when firefighters were responding to a vehicle fire on Zephyr Place. The house fire started shortly after that. Officers surrounded the home, believing the gunman was inside.

Three hours later, dozens of police cars from a mix of area departments were still there. Many of the officers are crouching behind police cars with their weapons drawn. The St. Louis County police explosives unit rolled up after 9 a.m., as did an armored vehicle from the U.S. Marine Corps. FBI agents were suiting up in tactical gear.

snip

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...6?OpenDocument

Very weird this week. Last week had heard of the big accident on a nearby highway and discovered a friend had been killed instantly and now this.

This thing is still going on. The firefighters can't totally put out the house fire, as someone is in there shooting at them. The one firefighter was killed.
Then I heard the morning anchor on our local NBC affiliate interviewing a neighbor on the phone. The police had tried to get folks moved out of there, but with the "suspect" sniping, many had to stay in their homes and were warned to stay down and away from the windows.

The person being interviewed was the "officiant" who had married SR and me. She's a lovely woman who works full time at a local university. I hope she stays safe. They said that the fire department is training hoses on the immediate houses near the shooter, to try to prevent fires.

I don't think the shooter is facing a good outcome, with the Mo Highway Patrol swat team, the FBI, and the Marines armored tactical vehicles there. I'm just praying that no neighbors get hurt and no more police or firefighters injured.

Frankly, I don't give a damned about the "suspect".

They should protect the neighborhood homes and let the Bugger roast !

[jinxmchue]

Hummert was fatally shot as he got out of a Maplewood fire truck as it arrived at the scene of a vehicle fire about 5:45 a.m. today.

WTF?????????

[SaintLouieWoman]

WTF?????????

Exactly. The young firefighter/paramedic had only been on the force 6 months after graduating from paramedic school.

It's still chaotic, but they say the car caught on fire, and the firefighters were responding to a vehicle fire call. Then all hell broke loose.

It's a nice little neighborhood in a close-in suburb. So many local muncipalities are pitching in. It must be nearing a close, as they're showing more and more fire trucks arriving. They won't let the firefighters in there due to the possible danger if the shooter is still alive.

The problem is it's in the low 90's and heading to 100. What a day for those poor firefighters.

[SaintLouieWoman]

Maplewood Shooting Investigation


Neighbor Describes Scene as Maplewood Home Burns Down

• <LI class=video> Play Video |
• Comments

Lamira Martin described the scene over the phone to NewsChannel 5's Jennifer Blome and Scott Connell around 10:20 a.m.


Here's a description of what was going on, told by the woman who did the 'I do's" for SR and me. It's a small world.

It was sad coming into the office, went by the Maplewood City Hall, already draped with the black bunting. Big Bend Boulevard is still cordoned off by the police.

[SaintLouieWoman]

Another update:

http://www.ksdk.com/news/local/story...150408&catid=3

UPDATE: Police Suspect Shooter's Body in Burned Out Home


23 mins ago
Maplewood, Mo. -- Neighbors said a fire destroyed a home in a where a man suspected of killing a firefighter and shooting two police officers may be hiding.
Tracy Panus, a spokesperson for the St. Louis County Police Department, said investigators were planning a search of the alleged shooter's burned out home, and "suspected" the man's body was inside the home, located just off of Big Bend in Maplewood, eight miles west of St. Louis.

Black smoke could be seen rising above a tree line where a home was burning at 10:30 a.m.


<LI itxtvisited="1">Photo Gallery: Maplewood ShootingLamira Martin, who lives across the street from the home, said live on NewsChannel 5 that the home was an "inferno" and that she heard possible explosions around 10:20 a.m.
NewsChannel 5 crews saw an armored vehicle from the St. Louis County tactical unit heading towards the home, and then they spotted black smoke.
Media crews were kept away from the scene and television helicopters were not allowed to fly in the area.

snip

[asdf2231]

Have they gotten anywhere near to figuring out WHY this happened?

[SaintLouieWoman]

Have they gotten anywhere near to figuring out WHY this happened?

At 3 p.m., police officials said that they would give no further statements about the case and said they believed the guman perished in the fire.

St. Louis County police detectives were processing the crime scene this afternoon and sifting through the rubble. Police said they do not know whether the gunman had lived at the home and did not know his identity. Land records show the house is owned by Mark J. Knobbe. Records also show Knobbe owns a pickup simliar to the one that burned.

"We have no indication that he got out of the house," said St. Louis County police spokeswoman said, adding that police still don't know much about the man.

http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/new...6?OpenDocument



They still don't know why this happened. They recently released the name of the resident. I had a quick drive home, as I guess everyone was avoiding Manchester Ave, which intersected Big Bend. The street, which had been barricaded all day, finally was reopened at 4:30pm.

Here's the latest---will post more whenever they release the info.

Oh, one of the newschannels mentioned that Knobbe, the suspect, had told all the neighbors he was on the sexual offender list, but no one could find him on any lists. It might have been a ploy to be left alone.

[Jumpy]

SLW, For awhile, It seemed as if everything was happening in my area... the Amish school shooting, the mass murder of the Wise family, the Ludwig/Borden murder.

Lately though, so much has been happening that you are close to. Scary stuff!!

[SaintLouieWoman]

SLW, For awhile, It seemed as if everything was happening in my area... the Amish school shooting, the mass murder of the Wise family, the Ludwig/Borden murder.

Lately though, so much has been happening that you are close to. Scary stuff!!

It's very scary. Last year there were bullet holes in the big glass in front of my company. I have a "window seat", which the other sales reps want. Sometimes I'm not sure if it's such an honor.

I get very nervous going out on sales calls. Most of my accounts are in fairly dangerous areas. I'm very careful now.

Edited to add this:

The incident was the latest of several high-profile crimes in the region this year. In February, a disgruntled resident of the suburban town of Kirkwood walked into a city council meeting and killed two police officers, two council members and the public works director before he was gunned down by police. The gunman, Charles ``Cookie'' Thornton had a long-running feud with the city over multiple code violations concerning his small contracting company.

In June, an Arkansas couple was beaten to death outside a hotel in Festus, Mo. Authorities suspect Nicholas Sheley killed six people in Illinois before killing the couple in Festus. He was captured a short time later in Granite City, Ill.

Last week, two people died inside Jamestown Mall in north St. Louis County. Police say S.A. Carson let the air out of his wife's tires, apparently so she could not get away, then went inside and shot her to death before turning the gun on himself. And on Saturday, 57-year-old Boris Shotekoff killed his wife and sister and brutally beat his brother-in-law before taking his own life, police said.

http://www.kmox.com/UPDATED--Firefig...andoff/2634174

SR is probably longing for the craziness of some of the stuff happening in Florida. He probably thinks he moved to a war zone.