HOPKINS COUNTY, KY (12/6/11) – SurfKY News was on the scene of a shooting in Hanson last night where two Hopkins County Sheriff’s Deputies and one Kentucky State Trooper were injured.

At this time, reporters have learned that the suspect, Dustin Barnes, died from injuries sustained in the gunfight. Two of the officers injured have also been treated and released.

SurfKY News will keep you posted as new details are released.

The original article is below.

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HOPKINS COUNTY, KY (12/5/11)— UPDATE - Two Hopkins County Sheriff’s Department Deputies and one KSP Post 2 Trooper were shot in an incident in Hanson, KY Monday afternoon, December 5th, say officials with the Kentucky State Police (KSP) Post 2.  The officers were responding to a complaint of a suicidal man, Dustin Barnes, 25 of Hanson.  The officers made contact with Mr. Barnes.  At approximately 5:44, Mr. Barnes came out of the house with a shotgun and exchanged fire with the officers.

Hopkins County Sheriff, Frank Latham, Deputy Otis Chamberlain, Deputy Mark Gentry, Deputy Jamie Lampton and KSP Trooper Ryan Fox were on the scene.  Trooper Fox and Deputies Gentry and Lampton were injured in the exchance of gunfire.  Fox and Lampton were treated and released at Regional Medical Center (RMC) in Madisonville, KY.  Deputy Gentry will undergo surgery for what KSP describes as non life-threatning injuries.  Mr. Barnes died at RMC.

As Trooper Recke explained while on the scene of the incident, “Around 4:36pm this afternoon, the Hopkins County Sheriff’s Department got a call from 85 Section House Lane in Hanson, KY. So far, what we’ve learned is that KSP Post 2 also received a call from this residence.”

In total, Trooper Recke stated that four officers with the HCSD and one KSP Post 2 trooper initially responded to the scene.

“I know there was dialogue between the suspect and officers, but I don’t know whether that was via the public address system on a cruiser, by telephone, or if they could hear each other from the house,” states Recke. “At one point, the subject came out, but I don’t know whether he fired at the officers from inside the house or outside the house, or both. However, at one point, he fired at them multiple times and struck a total of three officers. As a result, the officers returned fire, striking the subject.”

Trooper Recke reported that each of the officers involved were immediately transported to the Regional Medical Center (RMC) in Madisonville, KY via ambulance for treatment of their injuries.

The incident is under investigation by the KSP and HCSD. 

Law Enforcement officers consider this type of incident as one of the most hazardous they face.  Sometimes a suicidal person cannot muster the will to kill themselves; so, they confront law enforcement to do it for them.  Officers call it "Death By Cop".  Unfortunately, we may never know if this was the case in this incident.

Luke Short
SurfKY News
Information supplied by SurfKY News member, Jeff Harp and Kentucky State Police

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