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Suspect remains in stable condition

BRIAN WALKER/bwalker@cdapress.com | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 10 years, 7 months AGO
by BRIAN WALKER/bwalker@cdapress.com
| June 25, 2014 9:00 PM

The suspect involved in Sunday's officer-involved shooting on Interstate 90 in Post Falls remained in stable condition Tuesday.

No charges have been filed against Marcus A. Rael, 24, Glendale, Ariz., though they are pending, said Kootenai County Sheriff's Office Lt. Stu Miller.

"Investigators are meeting with the prosecutor's office on how to best handle that since he's still under medical care," Miller said.

No law enforcement personnel were injured during the incident.

The KCSO released no new details Tuesday on the early-morning shootout at the westbound Spokane Street on-ramp.

A Press source who declined to be identified said a pit bull in back of Rael's truck was shot during the exchange and had to be euthanized due to injuries. Miller said he could not confirm or deny that report.

A Post Falls teen captured video of a portion of the gunfire. In his one-minute video, at least 40 shots were fired. The standoff and gunbattle lasted more than half an hour.

Bret Picciolo, Time Warner Cable spokesman, said gunfire damaged a piece of its equipment.

"The damage disrupted service for one customer, which was restored the following day," Picciolo wrote in an email.

The damage was east of Post Falls City Hall, roughly a half-mile away from the shooting.

The KCSO has not released details such as how many total shots were fired, where and how many times Rael was shot, or other information about the exchange. Miller cited the active investigation.

The incident began as a traffic stop in the city of Coeur d'Alene, where Rael fled the scene in his pickup, according to the KCSO. A subsequent pursuit was initiated from Sherman Avenue and Interstate 90 to Post Falls.

Rael stopped his truck and began to exchange gunfire with 12 law enforcement personnel, including six Coeur d'Alene Police officers, three Post Falls Police officers, two KCSO deputies and one Idaho State Police trooper. All of them have been placed on paid administrative leave. Their names will be released later.

Police attempts to have Rael exit the vehicle were unsuccessful.

The investigation shut down westbound I-90 from the Highway 41 interchange to the Pleasant View exit for about 14 hours on Sunday, causing major traffic delays throughout Post Falls.

Rael's brother, Andrew J. Rael, 25, died in March following an eerily similar gunbattle with authorities on a Phoenix-area freeway. Andrew, who allegedly killed a tow-truck driver and a convenience-store employee before the exchange with police, was paroled from a Colorado prison in October after serving four years of a six-year sentence on charges that included punching a sheriff's deputy in the face.

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