'They Encountered Pure Hell': Sheriff Describes Shootout that Cost the Lives of 3 Cops and K-9
Police in Allen, Kentucky, came under fire Thursday afternoon when they went to the home of 49-year-old Lance Storz to deliver a court-issued domestic violence order.
Storz faces charges of murdering a police officer, attempted homicide and assault on a service animal –all to which he pleaded not guilty, WKYT-TV reported. According to the news station, a judge set Storz’s bond at $10 million.
The ordeal began around 5 p.m. Thursday, when police attempted to deliver an emergency protection order to Storz’s Floyd County house.
Floyd County Sheriff John Hunt said that when deputies arrived at the Railroad Street home, Storz, who seemed to have been expecting the officers, opened fire, according to WSAZ-TV.
The incident soon escalated into an active shooter-and-hostage situation after Storz barricaded himself with his wife and daughter at home and began shooting at the law enforcement officers outside using multiple firearms.
“They encountered pure hell when they arrived. They had no chance,” Hunt said.
Hunt says the standoff was resolved after KSP started negotiations with the suspect, Lance Storz. Negations included using family members. Eventually he came outside of his home, and he was taken into custody. #WKYT pic.twitter.com/VyGWULXcj7
— Chad Hedrick (@ChadHedrickWKYT) July 1, 2022
Unable to handle the gunman alone, deputies called for backup. Officers from the Prestonburg Police Department, along with a SWAT team, responded, The Daily Mail reported.
“When the deputies put out the call for help, the responding agencies, I guess, just entered the line of fire without even knowing where it was coming from,” Hunt said. “We were there for hours before we even knew where it was coming from.”
Storz barricaded himself for more than four hours until police eventually arrested him at around 10 p.m. and removed his wife and child from the house, WSAZ-TV reported.
Storz shot eight people, including an emergency management director. Seven of the eight people hit were police officers, two of whom died at the scene. A third officer has since died. The man also shot and killed a police dog.
Here’s the cop killer. Lance Storz, 49, of Allen KY.
He shot 7 people and a K9. Killed 2 cops and a civilian. He deserves the DEATH PENALTY. pic.twitter.com/5aePxTBgun— Mr. Appalachian (@MrAppalachian) July 1, 2022
One police officer suffered from carbon monoxide poisoning after taking cover under a car, Hunt said, according to WSAZ-TV. Inside the vehicle was the police canine that was hit and killed.
The wounded officers are hospitalized in Prestonsburg, Lexington, and Huntington, The Daily Mail reported.
Floyd County Attorney Keith Bartley described the ordeal as a “warzone.”
“There is no question this was a mass shooting. When I say it was a war zone when I pulled into this area, you are talking about people in fatigues, people with body armor, people with night vison, people with assault weapons – if that’s not a war zone, I don’t know what is,” Bartley said, according to WSAZ-TV.
“This guy had a plan, and he pretty much executed that plan almost to precision,” Hunt said, according to WKYT-TV.
“There’s a special place in hell for people like this. And if there ain’t, there ought to be,” Bartley said of Storz.
“I don’t know if there is any comfort for any at this time. Those people were not just police officers. I think that gets lost a lot of times, in media across the country. You hear about something happening in another state,” the attorney said, according to WKYT-TV.
“It’s not a police officer shot. Multiple police officers in this case. Human beings. People with children, spouses, moms and dads, their world will never be same,” Bartley added.
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