Firefighter Killed in St. Louis-Area Standoff>

[Edible Napalm]

http://youtube.com/watch?v=y3YMt8GADkw

A gunman shot at firefighters responding to a report of a burning pickup truck early Monday, killing one, then opened fire on police, wounding two officers.

[stevethrower]

I hope the gunman dies in a house fire...

[FellowTraveler]

East St. Louis is a war zone anyway. Let the whole place burn for all I care. Hopefully he has a son that will grow up to do some curb stompin'.

[WhiteHonkyDevil]

East St. Louis is a war zone anyway. Let the whole place burn for all I care. Hopefully he has a son that will grow up to do some curb stompin'.


http://www.prisonflicks.com/images/derek2.jpg
My dad bought me that truck....YOU LIKE TO SHOOT AT FIREFIGHTERS?!?!!?

[d0uche_n0zzle]

I hope the gunman dies in a house fire...

Exactly.

[Sinn Fein]

A house fire is too good for this piece of shit. This is one of those cases where we need to follow the lead of the turban-wearing savages and adopt stoning as a punishment.

[d0uche_n0zzle]

I rather be stoned to death then burnt to death, sir.

[Sinn Fein]

You'd pass out from smoke inhalation before actually getting burned to death.

[THE FEZ MAN]

well at least they let the house burn down.... ala MOVE 1984 they should have let the entire town down

[Edible Napalm]

I hope the gunman dies in a house fire...

They don't know.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=GGIZpMlL-C4

Little is known about the man who opened fire on firefighters and police in a St. Louis suburb on Monday. One firefighter was killed and two police officers were wounded.

[stevethrower]

Follow Up...



Maplewood ambush
Tuesday July 22, 2008 -- Police recover what appears to be the remains of a rifle from the house in the 7400 block Zephyr Place in Maplewood late Tuesday morning. This is the house where a gunman ambushed police and firefighters Monday, killing one fireman and injuring two officers.

http://images.stltoday.com/stltoday/resources/arson625july22.jpg

UPDATED, 10:54 a.m.

MAPLEWOOD -- Arson investigators from St. Louis County arrived this morning at the burned out home where a gunman shot and killed a firefighter and injured two police officers.

They got to the house in the 7400 block of Zephyr Place in Maplewood about 7:15 a.m. Tuesday. They immediately zeroed in on the home's basement, where the gunman is believed to have perished in the house fire Monday.

Investigators knocked down the last wall of the home about 9 a.m., and were working in the front part of the basement. More than a dozen people are searching in the rubble. They're using a backhoe and a screen to sift through some of the debris.


Mayor Mark Langston told reporters that detectives believe the home's owner was the shooter and that he perished in the fire. The man is Mark J. Knobbe, a 52-year-old recluse who has owned the home at 7440 Zephyr Place since July 1993.

Langston also confirmed today that the shooter used a high-powered rifle. Investigators are trying to find that weapon in the charred remains. About 11 a.m., they pulled out a metal structure that appeared to be a weapon.

"We're going through every piece of rubble and trying to get to the truth," Langston said at the scene today.

Events began about 5:40 a.m. Monday when firefighters from Maplewood's only fire station responded to the call. Knobbe owned a 1993 Toyota pickup truck that apparently was set on fire and exploded Monday in the driveway of a neighbor across the street from Knobbe's home.

Knobbe has no criminal record in St. Louis or St. Louis County and was up to date on paying his property taxes. Before buying his house on Zephyr, Knobbe had lived just around the block in an Maplewood apartment on Sutton Boulevard, records show.

Neighbors described Knobbe as a private but sometimes confrontational man who refused to interact with his neighbors. Langston said that regular neighborhood parties were held on the block, but Knobbe never attended.


Connie Stein lives just across the street from Knobbe's home. She said Knobbe would avoid eye contact with his neighbors.

"If he did come out of his house, he wouldn't even look at you," Stein said. "He's just strange. I'm surprised this happened, but not totally. It's like I kind of expected something might go wrong over there. You know how you get that feeling that something just isn't right?"

Link (http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/news/stories.nsf/stlouiscitycounty/story/6DCF328F1CF2C1A78625748E0014866F?OpenDocument)

Another neighbor down the street, Mike Porter, said Knobbe often screamed at children when they would step into his yard.

"He yelled at my nephew one time and I told him he was stupid," Porter said. "But other than that, we just didn't see him very much."

A few weeks ago, Porter saw a stranger come to Knobbe's house. That man was trying to kick in Knobbe's front door, Porter said. But Porter said he didn't hear anything more from the home that night.

Julia McCreary lives across the street from Knobbe. McCreary's driveway is where the truck exploded. She said she had no idea who or why the truck was parked in her driveway.

McCreary, 80, is the mother of the St. Louis County Police Department's chaplain. She said she was not surprised that such violence could come from one man.

"I'm not a person who gets excited about things," McCreary said. "We are living in a time now that you must expect that anything can happen. I just keep myself prepared."

THE VICTIMS

The slain firefighter was Ryan Hummert, 22, the son of a former Maplewood mayor, who colleagues said fulfilled a lifetime dream when he got hired by the city last year. Hummert was fatally shot about 5:45 a.m. Monday as he stepped out of a Maplewood firetruck that had responded to a call of a vehicle on fire.

The gunman — believed to be hiding in or near a home across the street — also shot two Maplewood police officers. One of them, Adam Fite, 28, a former Jefferson County sheriff's deputy, was critically wounded. The second officer, Maplewood police Sgt. Michael Martin, was shot in the right shoulder. He has been released from the hospital, Langston said today.

Martin has been Maplewood at least 20 years, the mayor said. Martin was off-duty when the fire call came out on Zephyr. He had just finished the night shift and was filling out some paperwork at the police station on Manchester Road. Martin responded to Zephyr when he heard there was a problem, Langston said.

The mayor said city officials don't know why the man snapped.

"I don't think we'll ever know," Langston said. "It's a mystery."

Langston said there had never been any problems at the address, and called the chain of events a "senseless tragedy."

"Something just snapped," Langston said. "Something just went wrong."

City leaders plan to hold a prayer vigil at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Junior High Park, at the corner of Sutton and Zephyr in Maplewood.

Maplewood Fire Chief Terry Merrell fought back tears Monday as he said: "We've lost Ryan in the line of duty doing what he loved. He will be missed."

Hummert, who graduated from Rockwood Summit High School in 2004, went to work for the city of Maplewood in August, after finishing paramedic school.

Hummert's father, Andrew L. Hummert, was Maplewood's mayor from 1983 to 1993. The slain firefighter's parents spent about an hour at City Hall on Monday morning meeting with officials.

[mongothetrucker]

As a former firefighter, I can't explain my rage over this.

[stevethrower]

Follow Up

Possible remains in burned house may be gunmans

http://www.southernledger.com/images_ap/7fef69a6-0acf-42ca-a368-1fcc5b29f2bc-7fef69a6-0acf-42ca-a368-1fcc5b29f2bc.jpg


In this undated photo provided by his family on Tuesday, July 22, 2008 shows Mark Knobbe. Knobbe is believed to be to be the gunman responsible for shooting and killing a firefighter and injuring two police officers before apparently dying in a house fire Monday in Maplewood, Mo. (AP Photo/The family of Mark Knobbe)


By (AP)
Published: 2008-07-22 19:20:04
Location: MAPLEWOOD, Mo.

Authorities on Tuesday recovered what they believe to be charred remains from the rubble of a burned house from which a gunman may have ambushed emergency workers, St. Louis County's medical examiner said.

Investigators also found a long barrel that came from a rifle or shotgun, county police spokeswoman Tracy Panus said.

The barrel and apparent remains were found at the collapsed house, where a gunman was believed to have holed up Monday after shooting at emergency workers responding to a report of a burning pickup truck in the St. Louis suburb of Maplewood. One firefighter was killed and two police officers were wounded in the attack.

The county medical examiner, Dr. Mary Case, said the apparent remains will be examined Wednesday to try to determine whose they are.

Panus noted that some witness statements indicated a person inside the house was seen lighting clothes on fire.

Meanwhile, the family of the man listed on St. Louis County property records as the owner of the house released a statement.

"We are deeply sorry for the loss of Maplewood firefighter Ryan Hummert. His death is a senseless tragedy, and we are praying for his family," the statement said.

The statement, identified as being from the family of Mark Knobbe, also expressed sorrow for the attack on two police officers, who survived. The statement said Knobbe had been estranged from the family for nearly a decade and had not spoken to them.

The family expressed shock and sadness, adding, "our hearts are truly with the families and friends" of the victims.

They said Knobbe was a 52-year-old Navy veteran whose tour of duty included submarine work. He was not married and had no children.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported that Knobbe received four notices of violation over four years from the city of Maplewood regarding problems on his property. Knobbe received his most recent _ for having high grass at his home _ a week before the shootings.

The scene at the house where a modest brick bungalow once stood was active all day Tuesday, with backhoes and cadaver dogs helping investigators piece together a narrative to explain an ambush from the home of a man no neighbor knew much about.

Public records list the owner as Knobbe, who bought the home more than 10 years ago. Neighbors said he never spoke to anyone and always had his blinds pulled.

Link (http://www.southernledger.com/ap/154163/Possible_remains_in_burned_house_may_be_gunmans)