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    • Sheriff reveals gruesome details of deadly Holliday standoff
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    Sheriff reveals gruesome details of deadly Holliday standoff

    Online Niel Posted on

    The names of the suspect and the victims of the crime have been released.

    (This story has been updated to accurately reflect the most current information.)

    Wichita County Sheriff David Duke shared details Friday about a harrowing incident in Holliday that left three dead and an hours-long standoff.

    Duke said the incident began around 2:15 p.m. Thursday when a woman was unable to contact her parents at their home on Ford Road in Holliday. The woman went to the house where she found her dead parents and her son in the house.

    The son ran from the home and the woman called the Archer County Sheriff’s Office. When officers arrived, they exchanged gunfire with the 28-year-old suspect, who was allegedly armed with a shotgun and retreated into a nearby metal barn.

    Archer County Sheriff Jack Curd on Friday afternoon identified the suspect as Corey Drake and his grandparents as Fred and Peggy Maier.

    Duke said Thursday that the Wichita County Sheriff’s Office responded to provide help at the scene, which was just a few miles from the county line.

    He estimated that by the time the incident was over several hours later, nearly 75 law enforcement officers and five armored vehicles had been deployed, including WCSO and Wichita Falls SWAT teams, as well as several others.

    Police cordoned off a large area around the property.

    Duke said the suspect did not have a cell phone, so negotiators tried to communicate with a meg but got no response. They knew he might be heavily armed because a gun safe in his grandparents’ house had been trashed.

    A barn door was open, so a Texas Parks and Wildlife Department drone was dispatched.

    “He’s not there for more than 30 seconds and he’s been knocked down,” Duke said.

    Duke said numerous drones were dispatched to the scene and it became apparent the suspect was in the attic of the barn.

    “So that’s a tactical nightmare. You can’t walk in there when he’s in an attic and you can’t see him. He had the ultimate sniper perch,” Duke said.

    He said authorities later decided to send a Texas Department of Public Safety drone to the barn.

    “He just goes in there and knocks her down too,” the sheriff said.

    The Texas Rangers called in a “Rook” vehicle and crew from Amarillo.

    Duke described the Rook as a heavy armored vehicle with a “spiker-like” attachment that can reach two stories high and penetrate walls.

    He said the operators punched a hole in the barn and pumped gas into it and then started pulling the doors off the barn.

    “We see he has a gun and he’s not giving up,” Duke said.

    He said the suspect once told a relative he intended to “go out in a blaze of glory.”

    Duke said officers knew the man had at least one rifle he fired at Archer County deputies and a rifle he used to shoot down the drones.

    He said a Wichita County Sheriff’s Office armored vehicle moved into position at the barn door around midnight.

    “He stood up and raised the rifle toward the door. Our deputy took one shot and fell to the ground instantly. He never moved after that,” Duke said.

    Duke said the Texas Rangers are investigating the incident and it will be up to them to provide the identities and what motive could have led the man to kill his grandparents.

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