Officer exchanges shots with Osceola man, killing him

An Osceola police officer returned fire of an armed man Thursday afternoon, killing him. The man, whose name has not yet been released, was killed shortly after 1 p.m. Thursday in downtown Osceola, near the southwest corner of the town square, said Osceola Police Chief Marty Duffus. Police were called to the area after residents had seen the man with a gun. When officers approached him, the man fired at the officer, who then returned fire, killing the man in the 200 block of West Jefferson Street. Police said details about the shooting or why the man was carrying a gun were limited Thursday, but more information would be made available sometime Friday. Two Osceola police officers were involved in the shooting. Duffus said both officers have been placed on administrative leave pending the outcome of the investigation. Kevin Winker, special agent with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, said the name of the man shot and the officers involved would be released later, perhaps Friday. No one else was injured in the shooting, Duffus said. An eyewitness said the man first shot into a window of a second floor apartment, 217 S. Jackson St., blocks from where the shooting occurred. Thursday afternoon, Fred McLaughlin stood outside the apartment building, smoking a cigarette after having talked to law enforcement. Moments earlier, he said he had been making macaroni and cheese when a young, middle-aged man in an orange T-shirt started walking toward his window. "He pulled a pistol or revolver and started pointing it toward... I thought me," McLaughlin said. "He pointed it toward the building, raised his arm and fired once into the apartment above me." When he realized he was safe, McLaughlin reached for the phone and called 911. McLaughlin then went outside. He heard shots. The man he saw in front of him moments earlier was now dead. "That's it. He fired at police. They fired at him," he said. Moments later, McLaughlin got some relief when a taxi brought home the woman who lives in the upstairs apartment. "I didn't even know. She could've been laying up there dead," McLaughlin said. He commended the police department's quick response. The Osceola Police Department, Clarke County Sheriff's Office and Iowa State Patrol all responded to the shooting. The Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation's crime scene team worked the scene. For the Osceola police force, which is 10 strong, Duffus said, Thursday was a day that, "when you get into law enforcement, this is something you hope never happens." "Obviously, this is not a good day for us," Duffus said. Osceola Mayor Fred Diehl said the town, and police department, while not happy about Thursday's events, remain resilient. "They'll be fine," Diehl said. "We have a great police force." Two young men, who sat near the scene of the shooting Thursday afternoon, said the man killed was their friend, known as "Mad" or "Crazy Max." Corey Page and Brian Mealy said they had known "Max" a couple months and said he was mentally ill and on several medications but a good guy. Jerry Ketcham, who lives at 230 W. Jefferson St., said he heard a bang, the scanner traffic and then went outside to check out the commotion. That's when he saw the man in an orange T-shirt, feet away, between his garage and his neighbor's house. Moments later, up the street, Ketcham heard "bang, bang, bang." It happened so fast, he said. Ketcham said it was a day of scary events, considering less than an hour earlier, Osceola's tornado sirens sent the town looking for cover. There were no immediate reports of tornado-related damage in Clarke County. "We're lucky no more people got hurt," Ketcham said. "You just don't think about this in your neighborhood." The events of the day were enough to cause the town to cancel its first "Thursday Night in the Park" event, which is held a block away from where the shooting occurred. The event is set to start next Thursday.