Once the officers arrived at the hotel, they saw a man matching the suspect’s description walking away from the hotel room and stopped him. At that point, he was holding a duffel bag.
The interim chief said the man was instructed not to continue reaching inside the bag, but he did anyway, produced a gun, fired on the officers as he ran away, jumped through a third-floor glass window, and fell to the ground outside the hotel. At least one officer returned fire, striking him before he jumped out the window.
The woman hiding in the hotel room with children ages 8, 10, and 15, was unharmed.
“I think the motives of a felon and abuser bringing a stolen gun to confront a brave survivor and children sheltering in a motel room are self-evident. It's clear to me that these lives were all in grave danger and these officers are the reason they survived this horrific and traumatic incident,” said Joseph.
“Only by the grace of God are we fortunate enough that those officers remain with us alive today,” he added.