KINGMAN, Ariz. — A Kingman policeman was wounded while in the middle of a murder-suicide call, but another officer managed to remove a baby who was in harm’s way Sunday.
Police Sgt. Bob Fisk said officer Tim Sparr suffered a gunshot wound to the arm after responding to a domestic disturbance call at 5:40 p.m.
Sparr and Sgt. Mark Chastain tried unsuccessfully to coax Brad Anderson, 28, out of a home in the 3100 block of Tanner Street near Eastern Street where he held his estranged wife, Holly Anderson, 26, at gunpoint, Fisk said.
The woman, a probation officer with Mohave County, was able to crack the front door open but was shot and killed by Brad Anderson a split second after she handed their 20 month-old girl to Chastain, he said.
Police think the bullet that passed through Holly Anderson also struck Sparr.
Fisk said Brad Anderson shot and killed himself seconds after shooting his wife.
The Andersons had separated and had an extensive history of domestic violence, he said.
Sparr was treated and released at the hospital. He’ll later require surgery to remove the bullet.
Police Chief Bob Devries praised Chastain and Sparr.
“I can tell you that their actions were nothing less than heroic,” Devries said. “It’s unfortunate that we did lose two lives there.”
The two deaths in a community of roughly 30,000 people came a month after police said ex-convict Darrell Ketchner, 51, stabbed and shot his estranged girlfriend, Jennifer Allison, 35, and stabbed and killed Ariel Allison, an 18-year-old who came to the aid of her mother. Ketchner remains jailed on a murder charge.
Also, a murder-suicide at the end of March claimed the lives of John Hett, 49, and his 45-year-old wife, Valery.
“Domestic violence is by far one of the most dangerous situations that officers will encounter,” Devries said. “They train for it but it never really truly prepares you for what some of the aftermath can be.”
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