Alleged Cop Shooter in Idaho Said to be White Supremacist
An Idaho sheriff鈥檚 deputy is alive today after his bulletproof vest was struck by bullets allegedly fired at close range by a 27-year-old fugitive who reportedly is a white supremacist with ties to the neo-Nazi Hammerskins.
That deputy and another officer, whose names were not released, were shot on Oct. 23 in Canyon County in southern Idaho after attempting to arrest suspect Kyle Alan Batt of Caldwell, Idaho. Batt remains hospitalized in serious condition in a Boise hospital with a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head that ended a five-hour SWAT team standoff.
Investigators have been unable to interview Batt because of his condition, according to Nampa Police Sgt. Tim Randall, a spokesman for a multi-agency 鈥渃ritical incident task force鈥� investigating the incident. Randall said he couldn鈥檛 disclose if the suspect was on life support or comatose.
After speaking with investigators, Randall also said he couldn鈥檛 comment on a report by the that Batt 鈥渋s a white supremacist with a large 鈥榳hite power鈥� tattoo stretched across his breastbone.鈥� Randall said he had no idea when additional information about the shooting, including the deputies鈥� names, would be publicly released.
Batt 鈥渉as connections with other white supremacists in the Nampa-Boise area, including members of the group,鈥� the ADL reported this week on its blog without identifying the source of that information.
The Hammerskins are said to have an increased presence in southern Idaho, where they held their 2012 ,鈥� the group鈥檚 annual white power music concert, in the Nampa-Boise area on Oct. 6, just 17 days before the deputies were shot.
Batt apparently attempted to take his own life after allegedly shooting and wounding two Canyon County sheriff鈥檚 deputies who had gone to his father鈥檚 residence in an attempt to arrest him for an assault earlier in the day involving his ex-girlfriend鈥檚 father.
As the two deputies approached the suspect鈥檚 father鈥檚 house, Batt ran out a side door, firing a handgun. One deputy was wounded and fell to the ground, only to be struck in the chest by other bullets fired by Batt as he ran by, Randall said.
鈥淔rom what I know of it, yes, he was shot to the front of his vest as he lay on the ground,鈥� Randall said when asked if the deputy was wearing protective gear.
The second deputy also was wounded, but returned fire, apparently striking Batt in the leg as he fled. Both deputies have been released from the hospital, but have not returned to work.
Batt was located about a quarter-mile away in the garage of a friend鈥檚 house, where a five-hour SWAT team standoff ended with the suspect shooting himself in the head with a handgun, Randall said. He didn鈥檛 know the caliber of the weapon or whether it was the same gun used to shoot the deputies.
Canyon County Chief Deputy Kieran Donahue told the that both deputies are lucky to be alive. 鈥淚t鈥檚 God鈥檚 blessing,鈥� said Donahue. 鈥淚t could have been far worse.鈥�
