Sentinel Police Chief Louis Ross was shot three times in the chest and once in the arm by a man identified as Dallas Horton, a 29-year-old “gun enthusiast” and “survivalist.” The Tulsa World reports Ross donned a bulletproof vest moments before executing the raid, which took place at a residence in the 200 block of South 4th Street at around 6:00 a.m. on Thursday.
According to NewsOK.com, authorities received a 911 call about a bomb threat targeting the Sentinel Community Action Center, home to the town’s Head Start program. The Oklahoma Highway Patrol bomb squad responded, although no bomb was found.
Chief Ross and deputies from the Washita County Sheriff’s Office traced the 911 call to the 4th Street home. But according to the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI), the 911 call “was not made from phones in the possession of those who live inside the home nor any other phones inside the residence at 205 S. 4th in Sentinel.”
It remains unclear who placed the 9/11 call. Sentinel Mayor Sam Dlugonski told the Oklahoman that the 911 caller used Horton’s name when making the bomb threat.
It also remains unclear whether the officers announced themselves before breaking down the door of the home, but NewsOn6.com reports Horton told investigators from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (OSBI) that he did not know they were police.
Sentinel Mayor Sam Dlugonski said that after clearing one bedroom, Ross entered a second bedroom, where Horton shot him. The gunman was taken into custody and underwent interrogation, but was released due to insufficient evidence for arrest.
“We don’t have probable cause to make an arrest at this moment,” OSBI spokeswoman Jessica Brown told reporters. The agency did say possible explosive device was discovered in the home.
Chief Ross was taken to Elkview General Hospital in Hobart, where he was treated for a gunshot wound to the arm and released.
In addition to noting his love for guns and survivalism, Mayor Duglonski described Horton as “on edge.” The Raw Story reports neighbors said he was unfriendly and mistrusted the government.
Horton had posted numerous racially-charged Facebook posts mocking black leaders like the controversial Rev. Al Sharpton.
One meme posted on Horton’s Facebook page showed the blood-soaked front end of a tractor trailer with a dead body lodged in the grille, with the caption, “Just drove through Ferguson, didn’t see any problems,” a reference to the sometimes violent anti-police brutality protests that followed the non-indictment of a white police officer who fatally shot an unarmed black teen last August.
A total of seven firearms were removed from Horton’s home.
