Authorities Say Man Shot By Larimer County Deputy Had Fired First
FORT COLLINS, Colo. (AP/CBS4) — Sheriff's officials say a Livermore man who was fatally shot by a deputy Monday had called 911 to complain about a neighbor, then used a semiautomatic rifle to open fire on deputies who responded.
Larimer County coroner's officials said Wednesday that Louis James Skelly, 60, died of multiple gunshot wounds.
A deputy had checked on Skelly on Monday afternoon after a neighbor reported gunshots and yelling but found no further action was needed.
Skelly later called 911 to complain about a neighbor and other issues. Sheriff's officials say that as two deputies approached his property, Skelly fired his semi-automatic rifle. One deputy returned fire with his department-issued AR15 rifle, striking Skelly. He died of multiple gunshot wounds from the AR15. The deputies weren't wounded.
"It was repeated fire like someone had just done four of five straight shots, which is odd," said a neighbor, who didn't want to be identified.
The neighbor said it wasn't the first time Skelly had a run in with authorities.
"Last year he had a run in with the fire department when they had come to help fight the fires. They were doing an evacuation. He had a shotgun on him when they came up and he told them he wasn't leaving the property."
Investigators are still trying to determine what happened and why Skelly opened fire on law enforcement.
"There were a lot of conversations with 911 dispatch. We're still going through the details on his statements about what he was concerned about and what was agitating Mr. Skelly," Nick Christensen with the Larimer County Sheriff's Office said.
The only thing CBS4 found a criminal background check was that in 2007 Skelly had a citation for violating a restraining order.
The deputies have been placed on routine administrative leave while the shooting is investigated.
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