The Campbell County Sheriff’s deputy who survived a shooting outside Wright, Wyoming, At On Sunday evening, he spontaneously decided to run behind his car after a man shot at him with a shotgun, the sheriff says.

The deputy returned fire, killing the suspect, identified Wednesday by Campbell County Coroner Paul Wallem as 55-year-old Christopher B. Morales.

Morales was called out on a domestic violence charge that evening at around 9:23 p.m. His wife’s eye was swollen shut when officers encountered her, Campbell County Sheriff Scott Matheny told Cowboy State Daily On Monday.

She was trying to escape from her husband, he continued.

What the bodycam shows

Matheny told Cowboy State Daily on Wednesday about his observations of the altercation based on the deputy’s body camera footage.

In the video, the deputy drives up to the house from which the call came. Just as the car rings to indicate that the door has been opened, a shotgun blast hits and comes through the windshield near where the deputy began leaning out of the car, Matheny said.

“I tell you, divine intervention there — it’s just crazy,” he said that the deputy was not injured.

The deputy runs to the back of his car to take cover behind it. Matheny said this reflects his training to use his car as a shield.

He ordered Morales to drop the gun and then returned fire, the sheriff said.

‘Drop the gun!’

Matheny wasn’t sure how many shots the deputy had fired. A very rough estimate would be about five, he said.

After the shooting, the deputy continues to give orders: “Drop your weapon! Drop your weapon!”

Then he waits for reinforcements, which are already a minute away at that point, Matheny reported based on the video.

Reinforcements arrive, approach Morales, handcuff him and begin resuscitation, which was unsuccessful, the sheriff said.

The deputy appeared calm throughout the encounter, Matheny said.

“He said he was in training mode: law enforcement mode,” the sheriff said.

Later, the gravity of the situation, their unhappiness and the unlikely prospect of survival had impressed the deputy, he added.

Sheriff’s officials had previously had contact with Morales at his home, “but not exceptionally frequently,” he said.

Morales’ autopsy is scheduled for Thursday, which Wallem said is later than usual because the region has seen more deaths than usual this week.

Claire McFarland can be reached at [email protected].