Man Injured In Standoff

A 49 year old Cheyenne man was wounded after firing a shot with a weapon and then pointing a handgun at Officers from the Laramie County Sheriff’s Department and Cheyenne Police.  Sheriff's Department spokesman Gerry Luce says the incident began shortly before 11PM on Saturday Night (May 14th) when Deputies responded to 3016 South Greeley Highway on the report of a suicidal individual with a firearm that was in a parked 5^th wheel camper on a mobile home sales lot.  The Deputies attempted to talk the suspect, identified as Hardy Ray Hodge, of Cheyenne, out of the 5^th wheel camper.  Initial investigation indicated that the suspect fired a shot and that the Deputies backed out to set up a perimeter to contain the individual as well as seek additional assistance.  Deputies did not return fire. Law enforcement officers continued to attempt to talk the suspect of out the camper when approximately 45 minutes later the suspect crouched down and stuck a hand gun out of a camper window in the direction of the law enforcement officers and officers then fired on the suspect. The suspect retreated inside of the camper and would not answer attempts to contact him by cell phone or verbally until approximately 1:45AM when Hodge finally responded to law enforcement and dropped his weapon out of one of the camper windows.  Hodge was evacuated to Cheyenne Regional Medical Center with multiple gun shot wounds and remains hospitalized at the time of this release. Initial investigation indicates that there were less than ten shots total fired at the scene and that one Deputy from the Sheriff’s Department and one Police Officer from Cheyenne Police fired at the suspect. The investigation remains ongoing and has been turned over to the Wyoming Division of Criminal Investigation. Potential charges against the suspect are being worked through with the District Attorney’s Office.