Coweta County Gun Range Shooting: Questions over the 911 call
A triple homicide at a gun range in Grantville, Georgia is making headlines. It is being reported as a murder mixed with robbery. It’s estimated 40 guns are missing from the range.
Police have released the 911 call made by the son of two of the victims and father of the third.
Looking at the words used raises numerous questions. Have a listen and see what you can spot.
Operator: Coweta County 911, this is operator 48, where is your emergency?
Richard: Hi it’s Richard Hawk the coroner, how are you?
First line in and I have questions. He doesn’t answer the question “where is your emergency” but instead offers a polite greeting and introduction.
People who are making 911 calls with guilty knowledge tend to be politer to the operator than people calling without deception.
On the flip side, he is highly stressed, he may have not heard the question. He may think his status will get him better attention, which is why he gives the introduction.
However, “how are you?” doesn’t sit well. The operator answers, wasting vital time before he gets to what he needs help with.
Op: I’m good, how about you, Richard?
Richard: Get me some, get me some police officers down here to Lock, Stock and Barrel shooting range 514 Bohannon Road... yeah I think somebody’s robbed us and probably shot my, my, my family... oh my god
Again, Richard doesn’t answer the question that is asked. This time it is more reassuring as he finally starts explaining the help he requires and why.
Ordering is prominent here – he says they’ve been robbed, before he says he thinks his family has been shot. I’d expect him to mention the shootings first, as they are far and away the most critical.
Also, he hasn’t asked for any medical assistance, only the police.
Some data points that will become pertinent later:
- he thinks “my family” has been “probably shot”
- he thinks “somebody’s robbed us”
Op: You think somebody’s shot a family member or just ...
Richard: no, no, my... the door’s closed, the door’s locked, everything’s locked up and I see blood coming from my son’s... eh... I see blood coming from my son, and I can’t tell if anybody’s dead, alive or what but... he’s not moving, he don’t look like he’s breathing.
Richard is more keen to say everything is locked up than he can see his son with a critical injury. It’s notable that he frames this as “closed” and “locked”, not that “I can’t get in” which I would expect to be his most prominent thought.
He talks about what he can see with his son, but then says he can’t tell if anybody, in the plural, is dead or alive. He then goes back to the singular to ask about his son again.
Op: not moving.... (long pause)... you said it was your son?
Richard: yeah... but my parents are also.. supposed to be here too, so... get somebody down here quick.
Richard has alluded to his parents being inside before when he said he thought “my family” had been shot and that he didn’t know if “anybody” was dead or alive. This is the first time he mentions them specifically.
It’s also the first time he mentions them vaguely, in that they are only “supposed to be here”. He does not mention why he thinks they are also victims. He is much more definite about the situation of his son than his parents.
Op: OK, we’re sending them, do you want to try CPR?
Richard: n... ah... honey I can’t even get in the door, tell somebody to bring some lock cutters with them. ‘Cos I don’t have my keys.
The CPR question, while being genuinely helpful, is a classic deception capture question too. Most people will try CPR to save a life, those with guilty knowledge are less likely to want to attempt it.
Richard again mentions how the building is locked and adds in “cos I don’t have my keys”. I’m now wondering if there is some story-telling going on. It seems important to Richard that the operator knows he cannot get into the building.
“Honey” may be Richard’s normal way of talking to women he doesn’t know. It could also be an attempt at being overly polite.
Op: We have them all on the way
Richard: Alright, hurry up
Op: Alright
Richard: Alight, bye
Richard’s want to have help quickly is reassuring. He tries to end the call here, which might be him trying to control the situation and not have to answer any more questions. It could also be a sign of his stress and a want to do something he feels is more critical now he knows help is on the way.
Op: Do you know who did it?
Richard: Eh.. no...honey.. no.... I am... like I said, I’m... I... I don’t know... the door’s shut up, everything’s shut up ....oh my gosh
I don’t like a lot about this answer. There are many stutters and false starts involving the words “I” and “I’m”. What is it about himself that Richard was finding hard to say?
Once more, he is at pains to talk about how the door is shut, and he can’t get in the building. He has now mentioned this more times than the details about his son or parents
Richard: Alright.. hurry up
Op: OK
Richard: Alright bye
Conclusion
We’ll rarely hear a 911 call that sounds like an everyday conversation. The stress and anxiety will change the way we talk and act.
I’m reassured by the fact Richard has asked for urgent help (although only by the police).
I don’t like the feeling of story-telling. That the robbery came before any shooting, and that he is stressing how the door is locked and he doesn’t have his keys. Only once does he say he can’t get in, the rest of the time it is much more passive “everything’s shut”.
Despite him mentioning robbery first, he doesn’t mention why he thinks a robbery has taken place. Given that he couldn’t get into the building how did he know?
None of this says Richard has anything to do with the crime but, from his words, I think there’s more to this than a violent robbery by perpetrators unknown.
What do you see in the call? Let us know in the comments below.
Follow up: A 21-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fatal armed robbery at a Georgia gun range that left three members of a family dead last week. Jacob Christian Muse, of College Park, is charged with three counts of malice murder, the Georgia Bureau of Investigation said in a news release Friday.
continued ...
From a practical standpoint - say the caller had a grudge against his parents - this would be the worst way to go about it. Stage a robbery, remove 40 guns, the cameras, and shoot everyone including his son. This makes no sense to me.
I might be willing to discount too much because I don't believe it was him, and I may be terribly biased. But still my conclusion - not him, and he doesn't know who it was, and has no suspects.
My argument: justifications are missing.