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Fort Morgan is typically a quiet community — but not for a while last night. Patrick Rice, allegedly under the influence of “medication,” led police on a chase, then held off the cops for an hour before shooting himself in the chest, presumably with a rifle — which doesn’t sound easy. Rice is reportedly alive at this hour, and if he survives, he’ll have some ‘splainin’ to do.
Look below to get more information courtesy of the Fort Morgan Police Department, as well as an interactive graphic showing the area near where the excitement started. If you have problems seeing the image, click “View Larger Map.”
Fort Morgan Police Department release:
A domestic violence suspect shot himself following a 15-mile pursuit and an hour-long stand-off in south-central Morgan County Wednesday night.Deputies responded to a domestic violence call in the 13000 Blk of Rd 19 at about 7:46 pm, involving a man armed with a rifle and who had apparently overdosed himself on medication. As three deputies arrived, the suspect ran from the house with the rifle and sped south on Rd 19.
The chase continued south to the Adams County line, back west and then into the 1000 Blk of Rd 16 where the suspect stopped. The man refused deputies orders to surrender and approximately 10 minutes later a gunshot was heard from within the vehicle. The suspect could still be seen moving but would not respond to deputies orders to throw out the gun, at one point sticking the rifle barrel out a window.
At approx 2113 pm another shot was fired through the driver’s side rear window. After a few minutes the suspect threw the rifle out the window and was taken into custody without further incident.
Patrick M Rice, age 50, of Fort Morgan was found to have a gunshot wound to the chest and was treated by Morgan County Ambulance Service medics along with a Medevac crew from Greeley who were standing by. The suspect was still alive when he was airlifted to North Colorado Medical Center in Greeley.
Rice will face several felony and misdemeanor charges if he survives.
The sheriff’s office was assisted by the Colorado State Patrol and several units from the Adams County Sheriff’s Office. No shots were fired by law enforcement during the incident.
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