Man killed in Hauser Lake shooting
KAYE THORNBRUGH | Hagadone News Network | UPDATED 4 years, 7 months AGO
A deadly shooting in Hauser Lake remains under investigation. BILL BULEY/Press
The Kootenai County Sheriff's Office responded Monday night to a report of a structure fire in Hauser Lake. At the scene, they discovered that two people had been shot. BILL BULEY/Press
Sheriff Bob Norris looks over the scene of a fire and deadly shooting at Hauser Lake. BILL BULEY/Press
Bennett
Kaye Thornbrugh is a second-generation Kootenai County resident who has been with the Coeur d’Alene Press for six years. She primarily covers Kootenai County’s government, as well as law enforcement, the legal system and North Idaho College. | March 2, 2022 1:09 AM
HAUSER LAKE — A shooting Monday night left one person dead and another injured.
Police identified 44-year-old Adam J. Bennett as a person of interest in the case.
Bennett was arrested and booked into the Kootenai County jail for two active warrants. Additional charges may be filed after an investigation is complete, police said.
The Kootenai County Sheriff’s Office responded around 7:45 p.m. Monday to a report of a structure fire and a shooting with multiple victims in the area of Hauser Lake Road and Highway 53.
Hauser Lake Fire and Kootenai County Fire and Rescue also responded to the scene.
Deputies found a deceased man at the scene, later identified as Dennis Rogers, a 77-year-old Hauser Lake resident.
Before the shooting, police said, Rogers spotted an unidentified suspect setting a fire near a chicken coop. He reportedly armed himself with a gun and went outside to investigate.
The suspect allegedly overpowered Rogers, took the gun and shot him.
The suspect then allegedly shot another person, who was later transported to Kootenai Health with non-life threatening injuries.
Witnesses said they saw a man running from the scene after the shooting.
When deputies initially arrived on scene, before they knew of the deadly shooting, they reportedly sent out three pages for additional personnel to help secure the scene.
Only two deputies responded.
Kootenai County Sheriff Bob Norris told The Press the inadequate response was because of severe staffing shortages at the jail, which have stretched the remaining staff thin.
Patrol deputies are working overtime at the jail, which is severely understaffed, and at dispatch.
Some deputies are simply too fatigued after working 40 to 60 hours of overtime in two weeks to respond to another page.
“We’re plugging these holes and it’s just getting to the point where we’re sinking,” Norris said.
Officers from the Coeur d’Alene Police Department and the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office helped KCSO secure two crime scenes related to the shooting.
This is the sixth shooting reported in Kootenai County so far in 2022.
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