Idaho resort town shootout kills suspect, 2 officers injured

SPOKANE — Two police officers exchanged gunfire with a suspect early Monday in the lakeside Idaho resort town of Sandpoint in a shootout that left the suspect dead and the officers wounded, authorities said.

The shootout happened about 3 a.m. after the officers responded to a call from a home and started talking with the person who made the call, Sandpoint Police Chief Corey Coon told reporters.

While they were talking, a man came out of the home and opened fire at the officers, hitting both of them, Coon said.

The officers managed to fire back and hit the man, he said.

The suspect and the officers were not identified but Coon said both officers were expected to survive.

One of the officers was undergoing surgery in nearby Coeur d’Alene, Idaho and the other officer was expected to be released Monday morning from a Sandpoint hospital, Coon said.

A charter school near the Ridley Village neighborhood of Sandpoint where the shootout happened decided to cancel classes, Coon said.

The shootout will be investigated by Coeur d’Alene detectives, Coon said.

Sandpoint is a town of about 7,000 residents on Lake Pend Oreille surrounded by the Selkirk and Cabinet mountain ranges and is home to the Schweitzer Mountain Resort ski area.

It’s about 90 miles northeast of Spokane.