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A deadly shooting incident took place in Floyd County, Kentucky on Thursday night, which left several police officers injured and killed two officers and a service dog. However, after nearly five hours, the police managed to capture the suspect and take him into custody.
The shooting took place when some officers were responding to a call in Kentucky's Floyd County for a domestic dispute around 5 pm on Thursday.
What happened in Floyd County, Kentucky?
The sheriff's office said that when approached by deputies, the suspect, a man named Lance Storz, barricaded himself in his house and began shooting. It soon turned into a hostage situation after Storz kept firing and injured two officers.
Soon, responding officers had to call for backup, including state police, officers from neighboring counties and even a SWAT team. The ordeal still lasted more than five hours during which nearly four to six officers and a police dog were shot and one of the officers was even killed.
The injured officers, who belonged to different agencies, were taken to nearby hospitals. However, one of these officers and the police dog were shot fatally and didn't make it. Meanwhile, Storz's wife and daughter were rescued safely from their house.
Following Storz's arrest, the Kentucky State Police Trooper Matt Gayheart told reporters that Storz was no longer a threat to the public.
The 49-year-old shooter has reportedly been charged with two counts of murder of a police officer and five counts of attempted murder of a police officer. He is also charged with one count of attempted murder and a count of first-degree assault of a service animal.
Kentucky Sheriff asked people to pray for slain officers
In a Facebook statement late on Thursday, the Floyd County Sheriff's Office acknowledged that the shooting took place. It noted that the Sheriff had thanked everyone for their prayers and asked them to continue praying for the families of the officers who were killed or injured.
Gov. Andy Beshear of Kentucky also issued a statement on Twitter in a series of tweets.
Another day, another shooting
With the latest mass shooting, the number of shootings in the United States has crossed 250 for the year 2022. However, these numbers are not drastically different from previous years.
The problem of mass shooting has been endemic to the country for a long time. Each year, hundreds of such incidents take place but only a few get national attention, sparking outrage from the media and the population.
The agitation for stricter gun control laws in the country has been going on for a long time, but it is yet to bear any fruit. According to research conducted by Ipsos and FiveThirtyEight, it was found that 42% of the population in the US considers "crime or gun violence" to be the most important issue that the country is facing.
