Wy. Deputy Shot in Gunfight that Left Robbery Suspect Dead

CHEYENNE, WY—A sheriff's deputy is in the hospital and is doing OK and a suspect has been killed following a call to the authorities about an alleged robbery of a student at Laramie County Community College, local officials said Saturday night.

Earlier in the day, the Laramie County Sheriff's Office was investigating an alleged robbery and assault of a person at LCCC, according to LCSO Capt. Don Hollingshead. Then, at about 2:25 p.m., deputies "contacted a suspect in the area of Cahill Park" regarding the alleged crime, said a news release from the sheriff's office.

LCSO had been contacted about the potential robbery and assault by the school's Campus Safety office, said LCCC spokesperson Lisa Trimble. The student had reached out to Campus Safety about the incident, and after the safety officials responded, they successfully asked the alleged perpetrator, who was not a student, to leave campus. Campus Safety also contacted LCSO, as is the school's procedure in such instances, Trimble said by phone.

A very brief and low-speed vehicle chase ensued, and after the suspect pulled over, there was an apparent exchange of gunfire, Hollingshead said in a phone interview. The Division of Criminal Investigation is investigating the deputy-involved shooting.

The shooting took place in approximately the 3500 block of Miles Court, Hollingshead said. The area remained a crime scene into the evening, according to Hollingshead and others.

The deputy who was shot was at Cheyenne Regional Medical Center and was in stable condition, the sheriff's office said. He was in the ICU at CRMC.

"He is able to communicate with us," Hollingshead said of the patrol deputy, who he described as having "been with the department for quite a few years."

The good news from a medical perspective is that "the injury is very lucky in that how it hit him, it did not hit any major organs," the sheriff's captain said. "He is going to be fine."

Sheriff Danny Glick "reached out personally" to DCI "and asked them to take over the investigation" of the portion of the alleged crime that involved a deputy shooting the suspect, Hollingshead said. "We do this any time there is an officer-involved shooting."

Forrest Williams, interim DCI director, confirmed his agency's involvement with the investigation, which he and others said is ongoing. Williams said in an interview that following the processing and/or investigation of the crime scene, the body of the alleged suspect will be turned over to the local coroner, as is standard practice.

As of approximately 8 p.m. Saturday, the coroner said that she had not yet been notified of the situation, and she and a colleague said that this office did not yet have the body. "Nothing has been reported to us," Coroner Rebecca Reid said by phone.

Later, officials said that Reid's office had been informed of the situation.

There is nothing for the public to be concerned about safety-wise, as the situation was contained at the location of the shooting incident, and "there (are) no threats to public safety at this time. It has all been handled," Capt. Hollingshead said. "Our deputy is doing reasonably well in the hospital. He is still in ICU."

The deputy was able to speak with his family and others who came "to show their support," Hollingshead said. "There (were) over a dozen law enforcement between DCI," the Cheyenne Police Department and LCSO "that showed up to support the deputy and his family" at CRMC, he said.

In response to a Facebook post on the LCSO's page about the incident, there was an outpouring of supportive comments. In total, some 183 comments were made as of Sunday afternoon.

In his own Facebook post, Hollingshead wrote that "it was overwhelming to see how staff from all local agencies showed up at the hospital to give support to him (the deputy who was shot) and his family."

Such shootings are rare in Cheyenne. The last time a deputy was shot locally was in 2011, Hollingshead said in Saturday's interview. Likewise, he said then, "it has been years" since a suspect was shot by a deputy.

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