Update: Dec. 1, 2009. Clemmons is dead.
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From Nov. 29, 2009
The news cycle for the Fort Hood shooting has just about run it's initial emotional course... so let's have another wild eyed shooting of authority figures in uniform.
'Domestic terrorism,' is that what it'll be called?
Or just another 'lone nut' killer?
Initial reports vary.....
The uniformed officers were drinking coffee, reading newspapers and working on laptops when the two gunmen walked in.The executions happened close to McChord Air Force base in Parkland, Washington, US.But there was nothing last night to suggest the gunmen were soldiers or the attack was similar to the Fort Hood killings in Texas three weeks ago.The killers, one black and aged between 20 and 30, and the other white, were not wearing masks. The officers were due to begin their shifts in the town 40 miles south of Seattle.No one else was injured in the attack. Ed Troyer, a spokesman for the local sheriff's office, said it was a "targeted attack", adding: "This was more of an execution. Walk in, with the mindset to shoot police officers."
Officials closed off the airspace above the scene of the shootings and put the military base on alert.{more}
Pierce County sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer said investigators believe two of the officers were shot dead while sitting in the shop, and a third was killed after standing up. The fourth apparently struggled with the gunman out the doorway and "gave up a good fight," getting off a few shots before he was either shot there or succumbed to earlier wounds.A report that the police officers were wearing bullet proof vests...
"We believe there was a struggle, a commotion, a fight ... that he fought the guy all the way out the door," Troyer said.
He added, "We hope that he hit him."
Troyer said officers were looking for one male suspect who fled the scene and haven't ruled out an accomplice, possibly a getaway driver.
Troyer said investigators determined that a hoax call from a person in nearby Tacoma led officers to believe the gunman was on foot and still near the coffee shop. A number of officers spent part of the afternoon carefully searching buildings close by.
Two employees and a few other customers were in the shop during the attack. All are being interviewed by the Pierce County Sheriff's investigators. {more}
The officers, who were in uniform — including bulletproof vests — were at the coffee shop with laptops open, preparing to start a day shift when the gunman opened fire. {more}
A 'war' against cops in that area?
Last month, Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton was shot and killed Halloween night as he was sitting in a cruiser with trainee Britt Sweeney. Sweeney was grazed in the neck.
Authorities say the man charged with that shooting also firebombed four police vehicles in October as part of a "one-man war" against law enforcement. Christopher Monfort, 41, was arrested after being wounded in a firefight with police days after the Seattle shooting. He remains hospitalized in stable condition, the hospital said Sunday. {more}
Monfort, a former security guard, received a bachelor's degree from the University of Washington in 2008 and completed a project for the McNair Scholar's program on "The Power of Citizenship Your Government Doesn't Want You to Know About: How to Change the Inequity of the Criminal Justice System Immediately, Through Active Citizen Nullification of Laws, as a Juror." {more}The 'person of interest.'
Clemmons has a criminal record which includes aggravated robbery, rape, and assault, as well as a history of erratic behavior.Investigators are looking for a person of interest in the shooting, 37-year-old Maurice Clemmons of Parkland. {more}
Clemmons, who had been in jail in Pierce County on a pending charge of second-degree rape of a child, was released from custody less than a week ago, even though he was wanted for eight felony charges out of Washington State.
Clemmons' criminal record dates back to age 18, when he was sentenced to 60 years in prison for burglary. While an Arkansas inmate, Clemmons' sentence was commuted by then-governer Mike Huckabee, over the protest of prosecutors.
We should stress that Clemmons is not yet a suspect. However, should he be shown to have played a part in this morning's killing, it will prove to be a serious black spot on Mike Huckabee's future political career, as this would not be the first time in which a prisoner released by Huckabee has gone on to do violence.
Although Clemmons was judged competent to stand trial in Washington after a mental evaluation, he has a long history of mentally suspect behavior. A sheriff's report uncovered by KOMO, Clemmons' sister told police,
Maurice is not in his right mind and did not know how he could react when contacted by Law Enforcement...She stated that he was saying that the secret service was coming to get him because he had written a letter to the President. She stated his behavior has become unpredictable and erratic. She suspects he is having a mental breakdown.{more}
Confusion...and a prior warning...
Pierce County spokeswoman, Sheri Badger said officers took a person of interest into custody shortly after the shootings but had not identified the person as a suspect.
"By the way they're talking, it doesn't look like they're any more than a witness," she said.
Police also took into custody a man who called 911 and claimed to be the shooter. He was ruled out as a suspect but faces charges in connection with the false report, Badger said.
Even before the shooting, Pierce County Sheriff Paul Pastor had published a statement on the department's website pointing out the "uncharacteristically large" number of officers in Washington state killed recently in the line of duty -- four over the past 18 months, before Sunday's shooting.{more}
Official: Washington Officers May Have Been Targeted - video
Slain police officers identified
These are strange times indeed.
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