Updated: Man in serious condition after officer-involved shooting at Huntingburg park
A Huntingburg man is in critical condition after two Huntingburg officers shot him during a confrontation at Huntingburg City Park Tuesday afternoon.
At 2:00 P.M. Tuesday afternoon, the Huntingburg Police Department received a message through social media from Zachary Tyler Peek, 27, Huntingburg, requesting that they meet at League Stadium on the south side of town. Concerned by the nature of the message and knowing that the Department had been to recent calls for service with Peek, the responding officer requested that a supervisor go with him to meet Peek.
After arriving in a parking lot on the east side of League Stadium, Officers Tyler Stivers, Tim Mullens, and Christian Gogel found Peek standing in the middle of the parking lot holding what appeared to be a revolver.
Multiple commands were given by officers for Peek to place the weapon on the ground, to which he refused to do. Peek then raised the gun, pointing it directly at Stivers. Stivers and Gogel fired on Peek, striking him multiple times.
According to police, the Peek was struck several times in the midsection.
Officers immediately requested emergency medical services to tend to Peek. He was transported to Memorial Hospital in Jasper and was transferred to St. Mary’s in Evansville by LifeFlight helicopter, where he remains in serious condition with multiple gunshots to his chest.
Officers on scene were unharmed.
Three city park employees witnessed the incident but no residents were in the area at the time, according to police.
A Dubois County Sheriff’s deputy was called as backup.
All three Huntingburg officers are on administrative leave. A 48-hour leave is standard procedure for officers involved in a shooting incident.
This incident remains under investigation by the Indiana State Police.
Prayers for you Zach!!
Prayers for you Zack !!
Posting as an opinion, as of 2/3 at about 5pm, Kudos (“thumbs up”) to Clint C, Steven D, Josh B, Mike M, and David N. All the rest are in a fog of one or more of the following: political correctness, socialism, irresponsibility, irrational emotion, denial or ignorance of the known facts, or an acute case of run-off at the mouth-before-brain, as expressed online. Hard to believe.
The comments people have made make me sick…Zach is my friend…yes…he is a vet…he fought to give us all the freedoms we deserve…war IS hell…Zack was suffering so bad these past few months…PTSD sucks…I know Zach tried to get help and as a society and our government….WE ALL FAILED this VET!!!! Shame on you people who have called him a coward…did you know his story or did you just jump…I am greatful to Tim…Tyler and Christian as well…I don’t blame them for doing their job…do you people realize that his family and friends read ALL of these comments???…Zach DOES deserve your respect for what he did for our country….the officers DESERVE our respect for doing their job…and keeping our community safe…Zach impacted a lot of lives…he is such a great guy…get better quick Zach…much love and prayers sent your way!!!!!
Thank you honey. Zach is my nephew and yes he suffers a great deal and has been let down… many prayers Zach and lots of love….
Shawn…I will defend Zach to the ends of the earth…seeing all the negative comments about him just about killed me….I knew if I was seeing them so was his family…I had to say something…my curiosity with all these people is do they realize how hard it must have been for the officers…all of who know Zach well from his jobs at hucks and Casey’s…all 3 know his story and did not want to shoot him…do these people realize how hard this whole situation was for the officers involved and for Zach too…society want to just jump when they see stories like this…people should learn ALL the facts before they say a word…the Peek family…the officers…and Zach are in our prayers…hang in there Zach
Crystal you are correct. Zach seems like a fine young man. And I’m sure the government with all their red tape has failed to get him the help he needs. My dad was in 4 wars eight different times. He suffered the torment and tried to kill it with booze. He never asked the government’s help although he helped several vets as a service representative for Spencer County a number of years. I pray that Zack gets better and that he is able to get the help he needs. I am pulling for him and will offer what assistance I can once he has recovered.
Rick…thank you for the understanding….it just drives me crazy that society always jumps before they even know the facts in a case…I realize its a knee jerk reaction to say the things being said…especially when the facts were sketchy at best to begin with…and before this it probably would have been my reaction as well…now however I do realize I should keep my mouth shut until all facts are known…I come from a military family as well…I understand how hard it is on the vets…I know Zach asked for help and he didn’t get it…all of the officers who were there didn’t want to shoot him…they knew him…but they had to do their jobs and protect their lives and the community…I think…as Zach’s friend…that the officers acted in the only way they could have…this is a tragady for all involved…my heart breaks for Zach…his family and friends…it hurts to know that he went to war…fought for our freedom…came home suffering…asked for help and none was given…my heart breaks for Tyler and Christian…it always leaves a psychological impact when an officer has to pull the trigger…even worse when they know the person and their story…my heart breaks for Tim…he didn’t pull the trigger but that must have been hard for him to see…people need to see that there is tragady in every part of this story…again…thank you for being understanding to his friends and family
So sad that mental health issues are often thrown to the back. Even more sad is that our veterans that stood for all of us now stand alone.