Submitted by freelance reporter Amber Kidd.
A shoot-out between Hathian police and an apparently deranged gunman on Saturday left two in the hospital and the gunman in custody, a police spokesperson and bystanders report. One of those injured was Hathian police officer Kai Slater, the other, Bianca ‘Bibi’ Nepomuceno of Jimmy’s Chicken Shack located on Hathian Highway.
The incident began Saturday at 8:35 a.m. when Hathian resident Dr. Caliea Farrjones called 911 to report an otherwise nude man clad only in a Mexican-style sombrero, a costume face mask, and a ballerina’s tutu was dancing around in public at the restaurant while brandishing a handgun. The first officers to respond to the scene were Slater and Janaynna Gomes, of whom only Officer Slater was actually armed with a firearm.
Officer Slater was hit when he drew his service weapon and instructed the suspect, identified as Vincent Crow, to freeze. Instead the suspect fired at him, striking his right arm and rendering him incapable of returning fire. The officer collapsed and was later taken by ambulance to Hathian General Hospital where he remains in stable condition, a hospital spokesperson said.
After firing on Officer Slater, the suspect withdrew into the meal truck parked at the side of Hathian Highway. There, he took Ms. Nepomuceno, who was working at the location, as a hostage. He repeatedly threatened to kill her unless he was provided with money in the amount of one million Canadian dollars and a clear means of escape. He then stripped her nude to the waist. The suspect was eventually subdued after a standoff lasting more than 80 minutes.
Other Hathian officers responded to the scene from a call made by Observer reporter Amber Kidd upon seeing Officer Slater go down. The officers stormed the truck after the suspect fired a second shot, which injured Ms. Nepomuceno in the right breast. She was taken to Hathian General Hospital where she is also reported in stable condition, although it has been reported she was also pregnant at the time of the attack.
No injuries to the suspect have been reported. He has been taken into custody and is facing multiple charges including attempted murder, kidnapping, mayhem, extortion, assault with a deadly weapon on a police officer, resisting arrest, unlawful discharges of a firearm within the city limits, and interfering with police business. No word on his bail setting is available at this time.
