Douglas County Sheriff’s Office
Matthew Riehl, 37, has been identified by law enforcement as the gunman who killed a Douglas County sheriff’s deputy and wounded six others on Sunday, December 31. early Sunday posted repeated online rants against law enforcement in the area. Riehl fired firing over 100 rounds while he live-streamed the shooting on Periscope.
The Douglas County Sheriff’s Office identified the 37-year-old Riehl as the man who shot the four deputies, a SWAT police officer and two civilians as they responded to a noise complaint at the apartment in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. On December 13, Riehl went on a profane rant against the sheriff and other officers in a YouTube video called “Fire Sheriff Spurlock”.
Riehl, a 37-year-old Iraq War vet, vowed to run against Spurlock as a libertarian and vowed to “fire all these bums come early next year.” While Riehl did not indicate as to why he had a beef with the department. But he called Spurlock a clown and flashed the business card of a specific officer whom he accused of being a pimp.
The four injured officers were identified as Deputy Michael Doyle, 28; Deputy Taylor Davis, 30; Deputy Jeffrey Pelle, 32; and Castle Rock Police Department Officer Tom O’Donnell, 41. Zackari Parrish, a 29-year-old father-of-two, was killed.
The Periscope video stream showed Riehl calling 911, claiming he’d been threatened by a roommate, saying he wasn’t there to hurt anyone but he does have guns.
In addition to the wounded officers, Riehl struck two civilians, neither of whom suffered life-threatening injuries.
About Matthew Riehl
According to the Denver Post, Riehl graduated from the University of Wyoming College of Law in 201 and worked for a time as a lawyer in Wyoming. He also served in the Army Reserve and then the Wyoming National Guard as a medic, where he received an honorable discharge in 2012.
