A Community in Shock
Shooting Wreaks Devastation in Moscow, Idaho
By Joan Opyr, 5-20-07
Update: At a press conference late this morning, Idaho authorities revealed that the shooter had in fact killed his wife before his rampage at the courthouse and the church, bringing the death toll to three. The gunman, who killed himself, was identified as Jason Hamilton, 37, a maintenance worker with a long history of mental illness and domestic violence. His wife, 30-year-old Crystal Hamilton, was found dead in their home with a single gunshot wound to the head. Crystal Hamilton worked at the Latah County Courthouse, where her husband unleashed a barrage of semi-automatic weapons fire Saturday night, and Jason Hamilton had done cleaning work at the church where he killed the caretaker.
The wounded police officer was identified as Brannon Jordan, and he was released from the hospital today after being treated for leg wounds. A 20-year-old university student remained hospitalized in serious but stable condition.
Update Two: Joan Opyr in Moscow has posted a complete account from the press conference here.
At six-thirty [Sunday] morning, a friend called from Virginia. She’d seen Moscow, Idaho on the national news and wanted to know if my family was okay. We are—but that was the first we knew of
So far, we know only the bare facts. A gunman armed with an SKS assault rifle opened fire on the Latah County Courthouse and the Sheriff’s Office. He fired round after round through the windows and walls of the dispatcher’s center and through the walls of the building, more than 75 rounds altogether. He shot and killed Moscow Police Officer Lee Newbill and wounded Sheriff’s Deputy Brannon Jordan, who remains in serious condition. One civilian was wounded and is reported in stable condition following surgery. The gunman then fled into The First Presbyterian Church, which is located just across from the Courthouse at the corner of Fifth Street and Van Buren. There, he shot and killed Paul Bauer, the church caretaker, before apparently turning the gun on himself.
Some reports have suggested that the shooting spree may have originated in a case of domestic violence. I have heard that the gunman may have killed his wife, or that he tried to kill her, before attacking the Sheriff’s Office. This information has not been confirmed, and I only report it because it’s important, I think, to understanding this community. Moscow is a small town. Our population is approximately 22,000, but to be honest, I think that’s stretching it. Those of us who live here joke that the city counts the University of Idaho students and, for all I know, we may.
This is a friendly, quiet, peaceful community. When residents who heard the shots called 911 last night, they were advised to lock their doors, stay away from windows, and try to find a safe room in the center of their homes. Common sense advice, but in how many cities do you have to be told to lock your doors? Many of us don’t bother in Moscow. Some of us don’t even lock our cars. The feeling of connection to one another makes Moscow a pleasant, peaceful place to live. This small town has never met a stranger. If you’ve just moved here, people will welcome you. We may joke if you’re from California—and hope that you’re not going to try and impose your California ways on our independent Idaho spirits—but we’re progressive, friendly, and open.
If you’ve lived here for more than a generation, then you probably play the “how are we connected” game. When you meet someone, you ask did my mother go to high school with your father? Or was I in your sister’s graduating class? Perhaps we meet one another for coffee at the Moscow Food Co-Op or chat by the local history shelves at Bookpeople. Maybe my partner’s grandmother delivered three generations of your family during the forty years she worked as an obstetrics nurse at Gritman Medical Center. We know one another here, and if we don’t always know one another well, it’s not for lack of trying.
I knew Lee Newbill, the officer who was killed—not well, just to say hello to. We met a few years back at a protest—I was protesting, and Lee was protecting and serving. He had a good sense of humor and a light, deft touch with the crowd. He was intelligent, not belligerent; the kind of officer who works well in a small town in which people may disagree strongly but don’t really want to fight. I understand that Lee had a wife and kids. Sadly, I don’t know their names. That’s not the sort of question you ask when you’re waving a sign demanding something or another, and the police officer talking to you is asking, politely, that you step back and keep the peace.
Moscow has its secrets, and it has its faults. We are not perfect. We cope with our fair share of cheats, liars, weasels and thieves. I wish I could say that they were few and far between, but as in most places, the selfish are always too prevalent. So this isn’t Mayberry—it also isn’t bad. Moscow is a damned fine place to live. My partner was born here, and I have lived here happily since 1993. This city is home to a great many good and decent men and women, to kind and generous and brave people. As a community, we care deeply about education and the environment. We love our small town, and we move forward in the belief that tomorrow will be better than today.
A few short weeks ago, I was trying to find the right words to console my friend in Virginia over the shootings in Blacksburg. She had friends at Virginia Tech, former students and old colleagues. She wanted me to know that Blacksburg wasn’t a war zone, that it was more—so much more—than the images being shown on the national news. Today, I watch the news on CNN, and I see that Moscow has become the war zone, the new Blacksburg, and I at last understand how she felt.
Moscow has around 20,000 people, not 2,000.
Comment By Joan Opyr, 5-20-07That was a typographical error. Moscow's population is 22,000 plus. Thanks for pointing out the mistake; it's been corrected.
Comment By Fran, 5-20-07I grew up in a sleepy little town that seems quite similar to Moscow, and to see televised images of police in riot gear prowling through the streets in armored vehicles was stunning and disturbing and sad. My heart goes out to all the victims, which sounds to me like will be the whole town.
Comment By Jamie, 5-20-07I live in the town right next to Moscow, but I go to Moscow High School, which happens to be around 100 yards (tops) from the front door to the First Presbyterian Church. I always thought that Moscow was safe, and I guess it is. Unfortunately, after Colombine and Virginia Tech, everyone wants to top the one before. But, this man wasn't able to do that, which I am very thankful for. Yes, Moscow has its faults, and its secrets, but I never thought that something like this would ever happen in such a small town
Comment By Giancarlo, 5-20-07Thank you for adding your voice. I'm a U of I grad student and have loved making Moscow my adopted home for the last year. Last night was horrific, I was visiting a friend on the next block when the shootings took place. Just like any place where this has never happened before, we'll be reeling for a long while. I hope this brings us closer and, perhaps, helps us prevent us this kind of thing in the future.
Comment By AndiM, 5-20-07To all of you in Moscow and surrounding communities--I wish I had adequate words to express how sorry I am about what's happened. I grew up in a town of 3000 and I knew the rhythms and reasons behind most things that happened there. Like any place, we, too, had our dark corners but we weren't defined by them or by the shadows that sometimes passed our doors. I hope there is some kind of peace to be found in the wake of this horrible, tragic circumstance and that Moscow will not come to be associated with the violent actions of this man. I hope that the shadow that now falls on your door fades and I hope that you can find comfort from your neighbors and friends and from the well-wishes of strangers like me.
Comment By Lauren, 5-20-07I graduated from the U of I last week, and I couldn't believe what had happened when I turned on CNN this morning. I'm no longer in Moscow but wish I was back right now to lend support. I had met officer Newbill and remember him as being extremely kind, with a great sense of humor. My prayers are with everyone in Moscow right now, especially the victims' families.
Comment By Cheryl, 5-21-07My heart goes out to the family of officer Newbill and all the families of all the victims. Small towns may not be perfect, but they are very special. To know or know of most everyone is a gift. You are all remembered my thoughts and prayers and I wish you comfort and peace.
Comment By Anonymous From California, 5-21-07Will this finally convince people in Idaho to pass sensible gun laws? Or will you continue to insist on the bizarre notion that the Second Amendment is to arm murderers instead of the National Guard and the police.
Comment By Diane, 5-21-07Why do people insist on turning a tragedy that just occured into some kind of political statment? Just over 24 hours ago three people were killed and two wounded and already comments are being posted on gun control, attacking Idaho law instead of sympathizing with the people affected. I worked at the Latah County Sheriff's Office as a dispatcher, knew and loved Seargeant Brannon Jordan, and respected Officer Lee Newbill. I am absolutely devastated at what happened. Now is not the time to go on a political rant about the perceived faults of a law, it is the time to join together, mourn for the victims and their families and pray for the survivors.
Comment By friend, 5-21-07joan, can you tell me where you were seeing reports about the wife..... i have spent the night looking for anything about her and can find nothing. She was a close friend and i know that he did indead kill her but can find no one that is reporting anything
Comment By Brian Carver, 5-21-07I work for a company that employees many VT graduates. These people have a great pride in their school. It hurts them and sometimes in conversation you can see it their eyes. Now I pray for Joan, her shattered moments and for the Town of Moscow.
Comment By Mueen, 5-21-07I'm a U of I grad - this is quite sad to hear.
Comment By Area Man, 5-21-07Friend, I think they are keeping that info on the down-low until all the loose ends of the investigation are tied up so they can present it at the next press conference, which I believe is supposed to be at 11 am PDT today (Monday). I felt bad for Capt. Duke having to answer and re-answer the same questions over and over again. I know the media and the people are starving for information, and Duke is trying to get as much out there as possible without compromising the investigation.
It's hard to be patient, and I hope all questions are answered at today's press conference. If all the rumors and innuendo are true, it should be pretty cut and dried.
We've had quite a run of luck here lately (Dickinson's disappearance, the Boss shooting, and now this). I think we're due some good stuff for a while.
Lee was a good man, a good cop, someone you knew you could trust. He was as tough as steel and gentle as a lamb. I wasn't his friend, just knew him. We all know of each other here. I remeber when he was introduced to me, by other officers that I am friends with right after he started with MPD. Brannon, you are my hero! God Bless You for your courage under fire, and to the Good Samaritan as well.
No greater love hath any man that that he give up his life for a friend.
Dear anonymous from California,
Thank you for using our tragedy as a soapbox for a line we know is complete BS. Criminals always have guns no matter how hard you make it for honest people to own them. Guns aren't the problem, F***ed up people are the problem. Most officers in this area have been assisted by armed civilians or gotten calls to pickup thugs stopped by armed civilians. Your empty headed socialism is unamerican, and fundamentally cowardice; Just like murdering people and then committing suicide.
"Anonymous from California" is probably better off in California.
He or she will never understand the concept of taking care of yourself, rather than expecting the government to do the job. Moscow is a world away from Inglewood or San Jose; people in the small towns of Idaho, and even more so the rural open spaces between, can't count on a cop being 2 minutes away.
We don't know much about the gunman yet... but we do know he was a disturbed individual.
I trust my fellow law-abiding citizens; that trust is rarely misplaced. I honor their right to protect and defend themselves, and expect them to honor mine in return.
Go ahead and pass some more sensible gun laws; they've worked SO WELL for you, down California way! (Not!)
(To my brothers and sisters in Moscow, please accept my condolences and sympathy; I mourn your loss.)
I am a U of I alumni and have spent many years living in Moscow. My heart and feelings goes out to all of you still there. This is a devestating occurance and I wish I could be there for you all now more than ever...
You are not far from my thoughts...and I offer my condolances and sypmathy to all of those that have lost loved ones in this nad my best wishes for those injured. If anyone reading this lives in Moscow, please place a card for me at teh ememorium that was created for officer Lee Newbill. Thank you.
Alas, a sad day for my hometown. I attended kindergarten classes, boy scout meetings, and friends' weddings at the Presby church in Moscow. To me, the Palouse has always felt insulated from the world's problems by its beautiful isolation. But it isn't. Probably never was. Still, the heartbreak is real. I mourn both the dead and the broken innocence. Take care.
Comment By Jill Kuraitis, 5-21-07Stay tuned to this thread for an update (at the top of the article) from New West founder and publisher Jonathan Weber. He will report on the press conference, which concluded just minutes ago.
Comment By KD, 5-21-07As an LEO I am deeply saddened to see another Officer die in the line of duty. My heartfelt regrets go out the the Officer's family and to the families of the other victims of this crime. As an aside an SKS is not an assault rifle but a semiautomatic military rifle with out a removable magazine. And as a mentally impaired person it is hard to understand how any weapon could come into the hands of this man. Just as in the V-tech shooting proper application of the law should have prevented the shooter from ever being able to acquire a firearm of any sort.
Comment By Anonymous From California, 5-21-07Don't Mourn - Organize.
Over and over gun advocates insist that firearms protect them - yet even *trained* police officers were killed by this shooter.
As long as firearms are available to supposed "honest citizens", they will sell them to criminals and others for use for profits. Look at all the crooked gun dealers Mayor Bloomberg has found. No doubt this man bought his from a "responsible citizen" through the individual sales or gun show loophole.
Moscow is a town - where there are police to help - so there is NO REASON AT ALL that anyone in Moscow "needs" a firearm. Hunting doesn't cut it as an excuse for violence since in driving through Moscow I saw at least one supermarket.
Fortunately for common sense, as more and more of us from more enlightened areas continue moving into backwards areas that promote cultures of racism and violence the laws WILL change and reflect the 20th, if not the 21st, century. You have no idea of how barbaric Idaho appears to new neighbors - people driving around with guns on display for no reason at all except to show how "macho" they are.
OK. He was mental and had been convicted of domestic violence - BOTH conditions that should have precluded his owning a gun.
I think at the least, every counsellor should have to report anyone who has received treatment so they can't get a gun.
And it should be a felony to not report them; also a felony to sell or give a firearm to anyone unless you have a background check and a fifteen day waiting period.
in response to : Anonymous From California
The real issue that I find disturbing with your reply here is the lack of care..a tragedy has occured and all you want to do is push your beliefs onto others...well let's look at some other facts of what happens when "more and more of us from more enlightened areas continue moving into backwards areas"
Since people have moved up from California into the Treasure Valley teh number of gang related crimes, including shootings, has risen dramitcally. In the past there were no gangs in Boise, now the host that exist in california have taken root. This is caused by parents fleeing from the gang ridden places like Los Angeles and bringing their gang-banger children with them. These parents, having decided that guns are the problem move here and try to change our laws without trying to change their children's perspectives on violence and morals.
But hey, let's not stop there. A gun is a tool. It is really that simple. It can be used for defense jsut like it can be used for murder. The trick is that the gun cannot fire itself, nor can it pick a target. People do that. Gun laws that limit the ability to own firearms only hinder law abiding people...kind of like locks really only keep honest people honest. The majority of guns that the criminals have are stolen from police and military providers...they are also bought at yard sales and flea markets and from on-line...in fact guns have even been shipped across the national borders illegally fairly easily...
So, instead of using this venue to press your political ideals to change a place that you don't live and belittle our way of life, why don't you try and fix your own "enlightened areas".
Moscow is my hometown, even though I moved to California 40 years ago. This shouldn't happen anywhere. We need to learn to love our neighbors. If this can happen in Moscow, it can happen anywhere. The lesson here may be to care for each other. We are all brothers and sisters.
Comment By Pamela, 5-21-07I graduated from both Moscow High School and the U of I. Afterward, I spent about a decade teaching in Alternative Education classrooms, mostly at a Juvenile Hall in California. I pretty much got used to the violence there, but I quit watching the local news because every time I did, I found out some kid I knew and liked was either dead, or on the run. I long ago quit crying about it and just sort of did my best to avoid thinking about it.
Moscow has always remained a warm and safe place to my mind. I could always look at the craziness and violence around me and know that there were still unsullied places in the world.
This hit me hard. It's like the brutal rape of a young virgin. I know the spirit of the people of Moscow will rise above this and will grow with it, but it still hurts.
Thoughts and prayers to families of those directly involved.
Man is inherently evil. That's the plain and simple truth. Laws will not prevent man from committing evil. Until we recognize that we too are evil, and have no hope aside from Jesus Christ, we will continue to act as we wish without regard to others.
I pray that God will soothe the wounded hearts of those in Moscow who are dealing with this tragedy.
John,
Thank you for making my point. Notice that your guns haven't prevented gangs; in fact, the easy availability of guns has probably helped the gangs establish themselves in Idaho.
I do care. I care very much for what happened to that poor young boy, a dupe of the NRA, who mistakenly thought that he could go out and do the job of a trained police officer and was badly hurt as a result. I am sure that had he NOT had a gun, and had he NOT been victimized by gun lobby propaganda he would have stayed inside and been safe. Instead, misled by macho propaganda, he attempted to do a job he was not trained for.
I'll bet the first thing he does when he gets out of the hospital is get rid of that gun. And everyone else should follow suit. There is no excuse for guns in civilian hands.
to Anonymous New Neighbor From California,
to help someone in need is an act of valor...whether he had a gun or not he would have tried to help. it is in our nature...those of us that have decided that human life is sacred at least.
To me it is ludicrous to hide and wait until the shooting is finished...by then you may be dead. It is the whole head in the sand mentality that stops people from caring about one another. It forces people to start looking out for only themselves and makes tehm feel that they are worth more than anyone else. This is why crimes are on the rise...not guns...not knives...not weapons...but the believe that the need of oneself overides the needs of anyone else. This feeling is bred in large cities not in small towns...
Before I go on, I will mentiont hat I am nto a believer that guns make people safe...but I do believe that guns are not the cause of harm...I am not a member of the NRA, but those that I know that are members are some of the safest gun owners that I have ever met.
So now that we understand each other a little bit...I doubt he will get rid of teh gun...the use of a gun in a civilian's hands is self defense or the defense of others...I am sure that if he had an inkling of where the shooter was, the gun may have been helpful. I want to point out that none of the reports said he ever shot his gun..just that he had one. also none of the reports mentioned that the people you assume had more training, the police, fared any better than he did. For all you know he may have had EMT training or even have served in the military...so blaming the fact that he had a gun on some form of machismo is as ludicrous as trying to force your standards on someone else.
Now I do believe that you are wanting to forward your own agenda...but prove me wrong...lets continue this discussion off list...where it would be more appropriate...this is a place for condolences and grieving...not for pointing fingers and forwarding political ideas....so lets continue this via e-mail. Mine is look forward to continuing this discussion there.
Thank you Mr. Harrison for seeing the downward spiral our anonymous neighbor from California has begun. This is not the place for this debate. Let's step back a bit and remember a few things:
Lee Newbill was a fine man. As an EMT here in Moscow I have responded to several calls with him and found him professional and a pleasant man to be around. A dedicated public servant if there ever was one.
I knew Crystal Hamilton, albeit not by name, as she was always taking care of business throughout the halls of the Latah County Courthouse. She was there at all hours, including prior to and after Latah Zoning Commission meetings, of which I'm a member. She always had a smile and kind word. I only wish there was some way to help her out of what she was dealing with in her personal life. My condolences to her family, and her "work family" as well -- all those at the Latah County Courthouse who will sorely miss her.
I never knew Mr. Bauer, but he seemed to have turned his life around after a bad run of luck and is remembered well by the Presbyterian parishoners.
I just keep hoping we can keep the politics out of this, since this was obviously an isolated act by one nutjob.
The shooting is a horrible thing, and Jason Hamilton should have been locked up in a mental hospital when he said he was going to kill people. He wasn't sane or sober when he went on his shooting spree.
2nd ammendment rights are for the PEOPLE of the United states not just the military and cops. If we take away guns from law abiding citizens the criminals will have the upper hand. I work for a gun accessory shop and I love shooting, I would never shoot someone unless my life was in extreme danger and It was my only choice. As is the thoughts of millions of law abiding gun owners.
Poitics will not stay out of it. Many people will try to get new gun laws passed and most will fail due to the citizens like myself and most of my friends. I know my family will be on the opposite side but that is because they have not had the opportunity to handle an assult rifle like I have and have the fun with it that I have! I absolutely LOVE going out to the shooting range with my boss and coworkers to sight in a sight or try out some new product or mount we have.
We seriously would be screwed if we lost our guns. We would be an open country for the taking to whomever wanted to come in with guns blazing and take our country away from us.
We need to become like Switzerland and not allow people ot vote unless they can handle and shoot a rifle, and have one at their home with a minimum amount of ammunition. I love the idea, because Switzerland has not been invaded in 500 years thanks to that law. The Nazi's stayed away from them for that reason as well as having to cross the mountains.