I knew something was wrong early Saturday morning when I could see a police helicopter nearby. My brother-in-law, who also lives nearby, recalls hearing the sirens. We just didn't realize at the time how close to home it really was.
There was a home invasion within half a mile from our house. When the police arrived to investigate a report of shots being fired, the suspect vehicle was just leaving the scene, and a pursuit began. It didn't last very long. The vehicle blew out a tire and stopped. The suspect got out and began firing at the police officers. They fired back, killing the suspect.
When it was all over, two people were dead and another seriously wounded. Another suspect who ran from the scene is still at large. The man who was wounded was Peoria Police Officer Bill Weigt - he remains in critical but stable condition. One of the dead was a victim of the home invasion, shot dead by the suspect. And the suspect? That's where it hits close to home. He was the boyfriend of our niece (and daughter of the aforementioned brother-in-law).
It was the major news story here in the Phoenix area. Names of the deceased have not yet been released. But we found out about the suspect when my brother-in-law called, along with some other details which have not been made public (and I do not find it prudent to do so, either).
We had met this young man before - he seemed pretty nice. And besides being our niece's boyfriend, he was also father of their 6-month-old baby. He typically stayed home and took care of the baby while our niece went to work. None of us - our niece included - had any idea he was capable of such a thing. Everything seemed normal Friday night when he kissed our niece and the baby good-night and went out.
What was particularly eerie was that he tried to call our niece when it all went down. There is a message on our niece's answering machine. There are the gunshots and a voice saying, "He's not moving."
This is the sort of thing that you think happens to other people. And even though I'm not directly involved, I'm pretty close to it. This one's just too close to home.
Pray for the perpetrators, for the victims, and the innocent lives left behind to pick up the pieces of an unnecessary tragedy.
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2 comments:
There are just no words to convey what an extreme tragedy this event was to everyone involved.
Stay strong.
I IS RIGHT ! I HAPPEN TO KNOW THE OFFICER WHOM WAS SHOT. GREAT GUY !!PLAYED BY THE BOOK . DID EVERY THING THE WAY A REAL MAN SHOULD. IS MARRIED , HAS FOUR KIDS. NOW HE CAN NEVER RUN WITH THEM ,NOR CAN HE RIDE A BIKE W/THEM. WHY ? DO ALL THE REALLY GOOD PEOPLE END UP SUFFERING? I AM SORRY ' FOR YOUR NEICES LOSS. AND ,HER BOYS TOO! BUT, IF I WAS GONNA PRAY TO GOD ! BILL WEIGT WOULD BE IN MY PRAIRES. PRAY FOR HIM TO WALK AGAIN ,PRAY HE CAN MAKE IT THRU THIS MENTALLY AND PRAY FOR HIS KIDS . WHOM IN A SENCE LOST THERE DAD THAT FAITFUL NIGHT TOO !!!!!
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