The night that shattered Moscow

The shooting started at 11:22 p.m. onMay 19, 2007.

When the firing stopped some two hours later, four people were dead, another two were seriously injured.

The Moscow community was left grieving, in shock and forever changed.

The dead included Moscow Police Sgt. Lee Newbill, 48, who was the first Moscow Police Department officer ever killed in duty; First Presbyterian Church sexton Paul Bauer, 62; and Crystal Hamilton, a 30-year-old employee at the Latah County Courthouse and wife of the shooter, Jason Hamilton, who committed suicide with a gunshot to the head at around 1 a.m.,May 20.

The violence began lateSaturdaynight at the Hamiltons’ home on Juliene Way east of Moscow, where Jason Hamilton shot and killed his wife and then drove 5 miles to the Latah County Courthouse and opened fire on the Latah County Sheriff’s Office dispatch center at 11:22 p.m.

Newbill was among the first to arrive on the scene to assist the deputies and dispatchers who had fled to the jail in the basement. Jason Hamilton shot Newbill multiple times at about 11:35 p.m. near Fifth and Adams streets. Newbill’s partner, Officer Bill Shields, was hit in the leg by shrapnel.

An emergency evacuation team transported Newbill to Gritman Medical Center, where he was pronounced dead on arrival.

Latah County Sheriff’s Sgt. Brannon Jordan, an evacuation team member, remained on scene after falling out of the evacuation vehicle. Jason Hamilton had since fled inside the First Presbyterian Church across the street from the courthouse. Jordan took cover behind a tree and was shot multiple times shortly after midnight.

The final gunshot was reported at about 1 a.m. SWAT teams entered the First Presbyterian Church around 5:45 a.m., where they found Jason Hamilton in the sanctuary with a weapon nearby and a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.

Bauer, who lived at the church, was found dead in a church office.

Also injured in the incident was University of Idaho student Pete Husmann, who bicycled from his home, armed with a .45-caliber pistol, hoping to assist police. He was shot in a parking area east of the courthouse around 11:47 p.m. An officer dragged him out of the line of fire, and EMTs treated him.

Crystal Hamilton was found dead the following day at their rural Moscow home. She was killed by a single gunshot wound to the head.

After the shootings, Moscow residents gathered for prayers and dedicated memorials to those killed. Hundreds of law enforcement officials from around the country came to Newbill’s funeral at the University of Idaho Kibbie Dome thenext Friday.

Jordan recovered from his injuries and returned to work at the sheriff’s department. He was awarded Moscow’s version of the Purple Heart at a Moscow City Council meeting Dec. 17. Husmann also recovered and returned to his studies at the UI.

For their selflessness and courage, all five officers that participated in the rescue missions were awarded the Idaho Medal of Honor onMay 16, 2008. All the sheriff’s deputies were also awarded Medals of Valor by their department.

According to police, Jason Hamilton’s criminal past in Latah County began with a felony strangulation conviction inSeptember 2005. He spent 90 days in jail and was sentenced to two years of probation. InFebruary 2007, he was taken to Gritman after an overdose of prescription drugs and appeared in court a week before the shootings for violating his probation, because he was not attending counseling sessions.

Then Moscow Assistant Chief of Police David Duke said following the shootings that Hamilton told doctors that if he was going to kill himself, he’d take others with him with a bomb or guns, and then recanted the comments.

Duke said Hamilton had drinks with a friend at Mingle’s in downtown Moscow less than an hour before the attacks began.

Jason Hamilton used a Springfield M1A semi-automatic rifle and an AK-47 during the attack.

The incident spurred Latah County to establish a mental health court to help people who commit crimes due to mental illness.