‘Didn’t feel real’: Boise residents describe seeing suspect, hearing police shootout
Residents of Boise’s North End dealt with a surreal situation Wednesday night: a shootout between police and a suspect that left the subject dead.
Police were called to the 700 block of N. 20th Street at 10:24 p.m., requested backup and eventually exchanged gunfire with the individual. The Boise Police Department has yet to release further information, but parts of the neighborhood where the incident occurred were reopened Thursday at around noon after investigators had closed a multiblock area.
Police continued to focus attention on a house and garage at 718 N. 20th Street well into the afternoon, though. It remained cordoned off with caution tape, and law enforcement personnel could be seen walking around on the second floor of the garage building and taking photos.
Mary Allen, 70, who lives next door, told the Idaho Statesman that police were at the house all night, too.
Several people told the Statesman on Thursday that they saw the suspect walking on 19th Street with a gun. Keith Cox, 71, who lives on Washington Street, said he saw a man in a hooded sweatshirt heading north on 19th carrying what looked like an AK-47. He said he called 911 at 10:46 p.m. and then hid in the bathroom with his wife.
Police said in a news release that officers initially heard gunshots at 10:43 p.m. and requested more assistance, and that responding officers “were immediately engaged in gunfire” upon their arrival at the scene moments later. It’s not known how many total shots were fired.
Cox said his house was hit by bullets five times — including a round that went through a front window — and his truck was struck twice.
Cox also said he saw the suspect lying on the ground at around 11 p.m., with a rifle next to him, near the intersection of 19th and Washington streets. There were still what appeared to be blood stains on Washington Street on Thursday afternoon.
Tyler Wasden, 44, a 19th Street resident, told the Statesman that from his front windows, he watched the suspect walking on 19th with a rifle pointed in the air. The suspect headed toward Resseguie Street, then came back toward Washington pursued by police, Wasden said.
When a police officer and the suspect were about 25 feet apart, they opened fire on each other, Wasden said. It wasn’t clear who fired the first shot, he told the Statesman, but the suspect had turned toward the officer.
After the suspect was shot, Wasden said he saw officers giving the man chest compressions on Washington Street.
Other people who live near the site said they first heard popping sounds at around 10:30 p.m. Jeff Bosse, 54, a 19th Street resident, said he was outside and heard gunfire as well as sirens.
“I dropped to the ground because I didn’t want to get hit,” Bosse said.
Bosse told the Statesman that he didn’t see the suspect but heard 12-15 gunshots.
Jordan Skyles, 32, and his wife, Kennedi, 26, who live at 19th and Resseguie streets, said they were in their living room when they heard at least eight shots go off. They said they grabbed their baby and headed to the basement.
“Didn’t feel real. That kind of stuff doesn’t happen here in Boise,” Kennedi Skyles said.
Curtis Wonacott, 74, who lives on 19th Street, said he had gone to bed when he heard three “pop” sounds. He told the Statesman that homes were hit by bullets.
Police spokesperson Haley Williams said BPD was “working on getting more information confirmed” and would update the public when possible.
Boise police have been involved in several shootings this year, including a fatal incident in late June in which an armed 22-year-old was shot in the head while fleeing downtown.
