By James England via concealednation.org
An escaped inmate met his end after breaking into a family’s Vicksburg, Pennsylvania home and being shot by the homeowners after a tense hostage situation. Warren County Jail officials confirmed the identity of the deceased inmate, Rafael McCloud, 34, after Vicksburg Police removed his body from the property. The husband and wife and their 5-year-old son were moved into a bathroom while the inmate was attempting to work out a hostage negotiation. Police reports indicate that . . .
the wife was the first to be able to access a gun and fire it at the fugitive. The husband then followed up and shot him again. McCloud was declared dead with multiple gunshot wounds including one to the head.
From the Vicksburg Post:
“We are incredibly relieved this family was not seriously injured and they were able to protect themselves this morning,” Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace said. “It’s been a long week for this community and we appreciate the cooperation of the public as we have pursued this community.”
The husband was taken to a nearby medical center for treatment for a non-life-threatening stab wound and the wife reportedly suffered minor damage after being hit in the head.
McCloud had been wearing nice new jeans, fitted tennis shoes and other items indicating that he had either received help after his escape from jail or had broken in and or robbed several other people to attain the items. Reports circulated throughout the Fort Hill area of sightings of McCloud before he was killed in this stand-off. He had escaped by stabbing and overpowering a guard at the jail with a homemade shank.
This is literally a nightmare situation for any young family. As much as we’d like to believe that everything’s going to be alright in a situation like this — McCloud definitely showed clear signs he was not at all afraid to use severe violence to achieve his means. Thankfully, the wife took it upon herself to mount a defense and the husband did the right thing and backed her up. Negotiations be damned — there’s no negotiating when your child’s safety is threatened. McCloud picked the wrong home to mess with.
It takes a lot of courage to know that a bad situation isn’t getting any better — and if you fight, you at least have a chance.
As concealed carriers, gun owners, and folks who know the evil that lurks in the hearts of men, we have to realize that Warren County Sheriff’s Office first priority was getting this guy back in front of a jury.
“This is certainly not how we wanted this to end,” said Warren County Sheriff Martin Pace. “Our goal was to take him back into custody and have him stand before a jury in Warren County. But he brought this upon himself.”
By the time McCloud made it in front of a jury, if he had his way, there could have been several more bodies being put into the ground. Thank goodness it was his and not theirs.