Washington County man arrested after deputies say he fired at them; AR-15 recovered
A man fired nearly two dozen shots at law enforcement officers during an incident at a Washington County home late Friday night, according to the Washington County Sheriff's Office.
Police said they also seized an AR-15 semi-automatic rifle and other weapons and ammunition after the incident.
One person was arrested. No one was injured.
Gerald Wayne Koogle, 42, was being held Saturday at the Washington County Detention Center. He has been charged with first- and second-degree attempted murder, first- and second-degree assault, possessing an unregistered short-barreled rifle and other, related offenses, according to a news release from the sheriff's office.
The incident began just before midnight Friday in the 16900 block of Longfellow Court, which is south of Halfway Boulevard, near the interchange of interstates 70 and 81.
Police had received a 911 call, and during the call "a female was heard stating a male was threatening her, and then the phone line disconnected," the release states.
No one answered the front door when police arrived, the release states. Deputies then went to a side door and could hear a man, later identified as Koogle, yelling from inside the home.
The deputies tried to get the man's attention and get him to come to the door, the release states, but he refused.
A person then fired numerous rounds through a window at the deputies "while they were only several feet away," the release states.
The deputies retreated to cover and were not hurt.
Shortly after, a female left the home. She was taken to a safe location while more officers arrived and set up a perimeter.
Through negotiations, two other people safely left the home.
"Koogle ultimately surrendered to police without further violence," the release states.
Police also learned that some of the rounds went into a neighboring home. A person was in the house at the time, but the resident was unharmed.
As part of the investigation, deputies served a search and seizure warrant for the residence.
"They recovered 23 spent shell casings inside the bedroom from which the suspect fired at the deputies," the release states.
The spent casings found in the bedroom were identified as .300 AAC Blackout rounds, the release states.
Deputies also recovered a short-barreled AR-15 semi-automatic rifle, chambered with the .300 AAC Blackout rounds, inside a safe. There was a live cartridge in the rifle’s chamber and one remaining live cartridge in the magazine.
The rifle’s safety selector was set to “fire," the release stated.
Police also reported seizing numerous other firearms and ammunition. Those were not immediately identified.
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This article originally appeared on The Herald-Mail: Man arrested after firing semi-automatic rifle at police, deputies say
