Before the Carbon County emergency services scanner went dark at around 3:30 p.m. Monday, the dispatchers, officers, deputies and troopers on it described an active shooter incident and manhunt in which at least one law enforcement officer was injured and a Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper’s car was “shot up.”
The saga ended with scanner reports saying the fleeing truck had come to a stop, and one person was dead inside it.
Carbon County Sheriff Alex Bakken announced via press release late Monday evening that the shooter died on scene.
"The subject opened fire on the initial responding deputy, striking him several times," the statement reads.
"The suspect fled the scene in a small truck. Additional responding deputies and troopers with the Wyoming Highway Patrol engaged in a pursuit with the suspect vehicle on Highway 789 north of Baggs.
"The suspect opened fire on law enforcement again before driving off the highway and coming to a stop. The suspect was declared deceased at the scene.
"The wounded deputy was transported to a medical facility in Colorado by Intermountain Air Ambulance."
How It Unfolded
The public learned of the incident when Carbon County emergency services called for a shelter in place due to an active shooter situation around 1 p.m.
Scanner traffic erupted at about that time, when a female dispatcher informed units that a “lady” had called to report a man emerged from a home near or about 49 West Cedar Street, Baggs. That's across the road from the mayor's home.
The man "came out of the house with a long gun, fired a shot, and now he’s walking around trying to get into an apartment,” the female dispatcher related from the caller’s report. “RP (reporting party) says he has tactical equipment on.”
The male had red hair, a mustache, no shirt, and green camo pants, the dispatcher related. She’d later add from a secondhand description that he had a fanny pack containing ammunition.
A Wyoming Highway Patrol Trooper who called himself “132” said he was on his way.
“He’s gone into apartment number one, and now he came out and he’s heading back upstairs,” the dispatcher narrated.
The man still had a gun, she added.
“He’s getting into a small black truck at this time,” said the dispatcher. Male officers, troopers or deputies pressed the dispatcher for a better description of the truck, and after several minutes personnel said it was reportedly a Toyota Tacoma.
The man headed north through Baggs. The caller didn’t know his name or who he was, the dispatcher said.
One male law enforcement officer said one of the officers was stopping the vehicle.
“Subject is now shooting at the patrol vehicle,” said a male voice on the scanner.
Personnel called in night shift deputies or troopers. They asked for help from Moffat County Colorado, which reportedly later sent two drones along with other help. They asked for a special response team from the Sweetwater County Sheriff’s Office.
“It appears one of the apartments is on fire,” said the dispatcher at about 1:18 p.m. Eyewitnesses in Baggs said the fire was related to the shooting and chase.
Traffic indicated at some point the fleeing black truck turned back south.
The town clerk told personnel, reportedly, that shooting sounds resounded “up on the hill south of Baggs,” said a male officer.
One man asked if law enforcement personnel had heard from a deputy called “66.”
“That is negative,” answered the dispatcher.
Later someone on the scanner said that residents of the area were “applying aid to 66” and that “66 is down,” while the suspect had fled northward in the black Tacoma.
The sheriff’s evening statement says the suspect opened fire and struck the deputy several times. The deputy was flown to care in Colorado.
Multiple parties on the scanner coordinated medical personnel responses.
At 1:29 p.m. a male trooper or other officer shouted, “Shots fired! Shots fired! He’s shooting at – “
“He’s right there,” an agent added after a brief silence.
What Trooper 132 Saw
Around this time the scene was unfolding around mile marker 40 on Highway 789.
“Shots fired!” said a male voice again.
“He hit my windshield,” said a male voice that sounded like the trooper called 132. “Getting water, he hit my tire.”
But 132 wasn’t done with the incident. He asked a deputy called “64” to pick him up and take him to the next part of the incident so he could keep helping.
A deputy called “68” reported, while catching his breath audibly, that personnel had a “barricaded suspect” just off a two-track or county road, headed west, but that by then, “we have no movement.”
The dispatcher said a special response team had been “activated.” That was about 1:40 p.m.
Agents coordinated shutting the highway down.
“Sounds like he’s barricaded in the vehicle,” said a male. “I know he shot at 132.”
One agent asked if he should bring an “OIS Bag,” or officer-involved shooting kit.
“I don’t know if 132 fired a round or not,” answered the male.
The Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation confirmed via email to Cowboy State Daily that it was asked Monday afternoon to respond to an officer-involved shooting south of Baggs.
At least one agent requested a “Bear Cat” armored vehicle. It’s unclear where that vehicle was coming from: agents mentioned both Sweetwater County and Casper.
Meanwhile, a “potential structure fire and chemical situation” reportedly progressed on Cedar Street.
A propane leak “appears to be there on purpose,” said a dispatcher.
The suspect’s vehicle was stationary. Agents weren’t sure if the suspect was still in the vehicle. The final shot was fired at about 1:08, an officer said.
Someone called for a bomb squad.
Cowboy State Daily asked the Carbon County Fire District to confirm whether, as scanner traffic indicated, propane tanks had exploded, and the department said it could not confirm.
The trooper known as 132 asked someone to shoot several photographs of his vehicle for the investigation.
“You can’t miss it, it’s a highway patrol car on the side of the road that’s shot up,” said 132.
Officers wondered aloud if the suspect had fled on foot or was still in the vehicle. Multiple drones were on the way to confirm.
“One occupant deceased,” said an officer, adding a directive to notify the coroner.
Bakken confirmed late in the evening that the shooter was dead on scene. It’s unclear how he died.
The Sweetwater County bomb squad responded to the apartment complex around 6:45 p.m.
The Carbon County Sheriff's Office lifted its shelter in place notification for the town of Baggs at 7:48 p.m. - nearly seven hours after implementing it.
"I Passed 17 Emergency Vehicles"
Cory Overton, a Baggs resident, said he was headed home from his work in the Craig area when a Steamboat Springs, Colorado-based SWAT team passed him on the highway, also headed toward Baggs.
He also saw a medical helicopter leaving the town, Overton said.
“I passed 17 emergency vehicles before I hit Craig,” he added. Overton said he and his son jumped into the car and headed north, then he took photographs of the aftermath of the incident.
One of the photographs Overton took shows a Carbon County Sheriff’s deputy vehicle with the window seemingly open.
It appeared to be shot by bullets, Overton said, adding that the deputy is a “local guy” known to the community.
Overton said he doesn’t know the shooter. Many people who work in Craig live in Baggs due to cheaper housing costs, he added.
Overton said he’s not sure if the apartment fire is related to the shooting incident. But when law enforcement personnel refer to “the apartment complex,” he said, only one comes to mind.
“That’s really the only apartments we have,” said Overton. That is, except for an old motel used for rent just north of town, he added.
Clair McFarland can be reached at clair@cowboystatedaily.com.
