Source: Getty
Officials said Thursday, an Army veteran who suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder was killed in an exchange of gunfire with law enforcement at a church in the North Carolina mountains. According to a news release from the State Bureau of Investigation, the shooting on Wednesday happened after officers from different agencies responded to an emergency call claiming four people were shot.
When officers arrived on the scene of Maple Grove Baptist Church in Waynesville, the emergency call turned out to be false. The SBI said there were no shooting victims as initially claimed, and the only person at the church was 44-year-old Wade Allen Baker of the nearby community of Clyde.
Authorities said a short standoff then started between Baker and officers. Baker was pronounced dead at the scene, however no officers were hurt. Special Agent Shannon O’Toole, an SBI spokesman, said he was not at liberty to provide further information on how the shooting occurred.
Nicole Shumate, the executive director of the Paws & Effect charity in Iowa said a service dog trained to help Baker was found unharmed at the scene and is being returned to his family. The Paws & Effect charity trains service dogs to help children with autism and veterans who suffer from PTSD, brain injuries and mobility issues.
According to the charity Baker’s service record shows he served in the Army from 1989 to 1998 in the mechanized infantry, serving in the Gulf War in the early 1990s. His family released a statement through the executive director saying he was survived by his wife, six sons and three daughters.
The statement said “We are grateful that no other members of our community were injured. We are struggling to understand these events.”
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