Police: Man who allegedly shot 3 Wilmington officers found dead after standoff
WILMINGTON, Delaware (WPVI) -- Police have identified the man who allegedly shot three officers in Wilmington, Delaware on Wednesday night, leading to a standoff that lasted for 12 hours.
Thirty-one-year-old Bernard Goodwyn of Smyrna was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound on Thursday morning.
According to police, a 911 call came in shortly before 9:30 p.m. Wednesday for a domestic dispute in progress on the 2400 block of North Market Street.
As police entered the building, investigators said Goodwyn opened fire, wounding three officers.
A woman who did not want to be identified heard about 10 to 15 shots.
"I saw one police officer carrying another police officer. He laid him down right in front of the daycare and he began to work on him, and they were trying to protect the police officer that was down on the ground, but as well, they were securing the area," she said.
Michelle Miller was inside the apartment complex with her 6-year-old.
"(I was) very scared, even more scared for my daughter because she's never been through something like this. She's 6," she said.
A standoff between police and Goodwyn ensued, and for 12 hours police say they tried to negotiate Goodwyn's surrender.
Officers finally entered the room in which Goodwyn was located and found him dead with an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. Police say his gun was recovered at the scene.
Two of those officers who were injured are hospitalized in stable condition, while one has been treated and released. Police say two of the officers have served since 2014, while the other has served since 2018.
Residents on the surrounding streets were told to shelter in place during the incident. That order was lifted by late Thursday morning.
The Action Cam was at the scene around 6:20 a.m. as members of the SWAT unit entered the building through a third-floor window of the home, approximately eight hours since three Wilmington officers were shot at the same location.
One SWAT officer went up the ladder, knocked on the window, opened it and then went inside. He was followed by more SWAT officers, one by one.
Then around ten minutes later, officers started to exit the building.
Moments after, a small child was carried down by officers.
One of the officers could then be seen talking to a woman who eventually exited through the same window and slowly made her way down the ladder.
A third woman soon followed.
"I'd like to give my appreciation to the police officers for deploying and saving the residents who live in the building," said Councilwoman Zanthia Oliver of Wilmington's 3rd District.
City Council President Ernest Congo wants the residents of the neighborhood to know city officials will do whatever they can to offer support.
"We have to make sure they are going to be given the proper resources. The police department went through an extreme amount of trauma last night, but so did those residents. So I don't want that to be lost," said Congo.
He also suggested the building where the shooting happened might have to be shut down.
"I can't imagine them having to stay in that building. Honestly, I think that building needs to be closed immediately. Those residents need to be given housing vouchers," Oliver said.
The Wilmington Fraternal Order of Police issued a statement on Thursday, saying, "The FOP has been with the injured officers and their families since late last night, we are praying for full recoveries. We are hopeful the suspect involved in this violent attack surrenders peacefully."
Deborah Bonkin lives in the building where this all happened and was also thinking of the injured officers.
"Yes, they are real brave. Thank God for those officers, or this place would be something else," Bonkin said.
Governor John Carney said on social media Thursday morning, "Tracey and I are praying for the Wilmington PD officers shot in the line of duty, their families, and their fellow members of Delaware's law enforcement community."
Action News spoke with Pastor Derrick Johnson at the scene, whose church is on the same block.
"It's a sad day in my community. It's a sad day when anybody shoots at or shoots law enforcement, but it's also a sad day when our community is so divided and so afraid of the police in some ways that the deployment is not a more important topic for our city, our mayor," Johnson said.
