Cops storm room to arrest shooting suspect

SANDPOINT — A Sandpoint man accused of drunkenly opening fire on a guest inside his room at the Elliott Hotel was arrested early Monday morning in a SWAT-style takedown.

There were no injuries, according to Sandpoint Police and Bonner County Sheriff’s officials.

Homer James Shinn IV is charged with aggravated assault for firing a .22-caliber rifle at one of the guests in his room, police Chief Mark Lockwood said.

Officers were summoned to the hotel at the corner of Second Avenue and Pine Street after receiving a report of gunshots at about 2:39 a.m.

“One witness stated the weapon was discharged in his direction,” Lockwood said.

 “No one was hit and everyone that was in the apartment — apparently there was three to four people in there with the individual — immediately exited it.”

Officers opted to quietly evacuate the tightly clustered apartments in the building and obtain search and arrest warrants for Shinn.

“We were very concerned that if we forced a confrontation with him, then rounds could have been discharged, going through walls and out windows,” said Lockwood.

Shortly before 7:30 a.m., a phalanx of Bonner County Sheriff’s Emergency Response Team members, armed with assault weapons, a battering ram and a noise flash diversionary device, made their move.

The stick-mounted diversionary device was deployed in an open window of the second-story apartment and the ERT burst through the door to apprehend Shinn, said sheriff’s Lt. Ror Lakewold.

“Everything went really well,” Lakewold said.

A Spokane, Wash., television station and a newspaper reported the incident as a standoff. But the incident lacked a requisite element of standoff — a confrontation.

Both Lockwood and Lakewold said law officers did not engage Shinn until they breached the apartment door. Shinn was apparently unaware of the evacuation or that officers were about to arrest him.

“They were going to try to take him out (of the apartment) without notifying him so he couldn’t hurt anybody,” Lakewold said.

A search of the apartment turned up a 12-gauge shotgun and the .22 used in the alleged assault, both of which were loaded, according to Lockwood.

Shinn, 19, is expected to make an initial court appearance today in the magistrate division of 1st District Court, where he will be advised of the charge against him and the amount of his bail.

Lockwood said it’s unclear why Shinn opened fire.

“We don’t know that information. He refused to talk to us,” he said.