Police Shooting= A Scary, Sad Day in our Hometown

We had quite an eventful, sad day in our hometown of Lake City, MN today.  Lake City is a very small town- only about 5300 people, yet today the unthinkable happened.  An armed gunman shot an officer, who was responding to a domestic disturbance call, twice- once in the back and once in the head, before barricading himself inside of a house.  To make a long story short, the officer is currently at Mayo in Rochester, MN in critical condition and we are all hoping for a quick and complete recovery.  Things look promising so far.  The gunman apparently turned his weapon on himself and was found dead in the home nearly 10 hours later.  Here's what just one of many articles said about the incident:

"Lake City Officer Shot; Gunman Believed Dead

Officer shot in head, in critical condition

Updated: Monday, 19 Dec 2011, 7:28 PM CST
Published : Monday, 19 Dec 2011, 9:35 AM CST

FOX 9 News

LAKE CITY, Minn. - A police officer is in critical condition after he was shot in the head while responding to an altercation at a home in Lake City, Minn. on Monday. A standoff with the suspect lasted into the evening, until officers entered the home and found the body of a man believed to be the gunman.

SLIDESHOW: Standoff in Lake City

The Wabasha County medical examiner will positively identify the body of the man found in the home, but the standoff ended once it was found.
According to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety, the shooting occurred after two Lake City police officers were called to the home at West Lyon Avenue to a reported domestic incident involving a handgun.

There were two shots fired, with Officer Shawn Schneider, 32, suffering a head wound at the front door of the home. Schneider was taken to St. Mary's Hospital in Rochester, where he remained in critical condition Monday evening. The second officer was not injured.

Police confirmed the suspect in the shooting is Alan J. Sylte Jr., 25, of Hager City, Wis. They believe Sylte remained inside the home, armed with a small caliber handgun, after shooting Schneider.
A perimeter was established around the home at 618 Lyon Avenue, but a police tactical team was not able to make contact with Sylte, who has a criminal record that includes battery and disorderly conduct charges in Wisconsin in 2006.

Schools in Lake City were placed on lockdown at the request of police during the standoff. The school district said all students were safe inside the school, and buildings remained on lockdown until shortly after 6 p.m., when police advised schools that it was safe to transport the students home.
 The Bureau of Criminal Apprehension will investigate the shooting."

This has all come as quite a shock to everyone in our close-knit community!  This is something that we see happening in other cities around the country and the world, but can never imagine happening in our own backyard.  The house where the stand-off occurred is only 7 blocks away from my own home. 

We are all hoping and praying for the wounded officer and his family as well as thinking and thanking everyone involved with the situation today- the police officers of Lake City and several other surrounding communities, the volunteer fire department, the ambulance crew, all of the government agencies involved, the teachers and school officials that kept our students safe and calm during lock down, and everyone who stepped up to help in one way or another.  We would all appreciate your thoughts and prayers. 

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