Wyoming's Pine Bluffs police launched a manhunt Tuesday to capture a man suspected of assaulting his grandmother with a chair and firing off a shotgun inside the home, according to a department statement.
The incident happened three blocks from a school on the second day of the school year, triggering three area schools into lockdown safety mode.
At about 4 p.m., the Pine Bluffs Police Department responded to a domestic violence call at 515 Blair St., believing that Tyler Pohlman, 26, had assaulted his grandmother with a chair and discharged a shotgun inside the house, then fled the scene, reads a statement dispatched Tuesday evening to the department's Facebook page.
The Pine Bluffs Elementary, middle and high schools sit about three blocks away, on Maple and Elm Streets.
Police officers and a Laramie County Sheriff's Office deputy encountered Pohlman, who fled back into the home. Then the agents heard a "loud bang" and spotted a broken window. They tried to contain the suspect, but he escaped through the rear exit on foot, the statement says.
Another notice informed Pine Bluffs residents that Pohlman may have had a dog with him.
"Do not approach, call 911," the police department warned residents in its statement, which also urged people to stay indoors.
Police coordinated with the sheriff's office, the Laramie County Combined Communications Center, the Cheyenne Police Department, city of Cheyenne, Laramie County SWAT Team, Wyoming Game and Fish, U.S. Marshals Service and Wyoming Highway Patrol, to find Pohlman.
Pine Bluffs emergency medical services, ambulance and Fire District 5 were on standby as well.
While the lockdown was in effect at the schools, students received notifications from the Laramie County School District No. 2 communications system.
They launched "a thorough search" until agents found and apprehended the suspect. "And the dog is safe," the statement adds.
"It is important to note that the suspect is considered innocent until proven guilty," the statement says, thanking people for helping the search by staying inside.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
