The Associated Press
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho (AP) -- A 52-year-old man was killed after opening fire on police officers, who had been warned that the man claimed he was having Vietnam War flashbacks and could be a danger to himself.
Lt. Ken Brown said Charles Hogoboom had called police only moments after a relative told authorities that Hogoboom had been crying on the telephone and acting strange.
Dispatchers said the man told them “we need to finish what was started in Vietnam” when he called them just moments before the exchange of gunfire.
Police, arriving outside his second-story apartment at the same time on Sunday evening, were immediately fired on, Brown said. One of the first officers on the scene returned fire, hitting Hogoboom with both shots and killing him.
The officer was placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of investigations by the Bonneville County Prosecutor’s Office and the Idaho State Police. Six other officers involved in the incident were also given time off.
Brown said Hogoboom fired five shots from a shotgun, three from a .22-caliber rifle and three from a .45-caliber semiautomatic pistol. Brown said Hogoboom was still clutching the handgun when his body was found.
Jason Rigoulot, who lived in the apartment below Hogoboom’s, said the man moved into the building last August or September. Rigoulot described him as peaceful and seemingly not prone to violence.