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Whitewood standoff ends quietly
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FarkA Whitewood man's shooting spree ended quietly Sunday when he surrendered voluntarily after a four-hour standoff with law enforcement, but not without a few moments of tension for local residents.
The excitement started about 10:30 a.m. when Albert Rankin, 47, apparently fired several shots from the window of a second floor apartment in downtown Whitewood at a truck parked across the street, according to John Shafto, who owns the Hub building at the corner of Meade and Laurel streets. The building houses Hub's Pub in the basement, The Hub, a coffee shop on the main floor, and apartments upstairs.
"He wasn't shooting at people. I don't think he was homicidal, or whatever," Shafto said. Shafto said he was told Rankin was using a .22-caliber rifle.
According to Shafto, Rankin was staying with a woman who rents an apartment in the building.
Shafto said someone was doing dirt work for him near where the truck was parked and heard the shots. The man called him and the police.
The resident of another apartment in the building left unharmed shortly after the shooting started, according to the Shafto's wife, Deb.
When Shafto arrived, officers with the Whitewood Police Department, South Dakota Highway Patrol, Rapid City Special Response Team and the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office were on the scene.
"It was like a whole army came up here," Shafto said. Officers were stationed on rooftops monitoring Rankins' movements through apartment windows. "The SWAT people were all over the place."
Whitewood Mayor Mike Weyrich told the Lawrence County Journal that Rankin "kind of quit shooting" after law enforcement arrived.
"He just sat in there. They were calling him, but he wouldn't answer," Shafto said, who managed to locate Rankin's girlfriend and provided a phone number for the apartment. "I guess he knew he was in trouble."
At one point, during the standoff, a firearm carried by a special response team member accidentally discharged.
"It sounded like a cannon," Shafto said. "Everyone in town heard it. We thought they shot Al."
The discharge of the weapon did not pose a threat to anyone because of the "manner it was being handled at the time," according to Sgt. Travis Little of the Lawrence County Sheriff's Office.
"When you work in an environment with a lot of loaded guns, unfortunate events like that happen," Little said.
According to Little, Rankin surrendered voluntarily and "was taken into custody without incident."
Sundays are usually quiet in Whitewood. People were going back and forth from church when the shooting took place, Shafto said.
"Since that's the only major artery in town, you pretty much couldn't go anywhere," Weyrich said.
Every time there is an incident, whether it's an active shooter, a forest fire or flooding, one of the biggest problems officials face is protecting the public from getting too close to the scene, Weyrich said.
"This was no different. We tried to make it as smooth as possible, but sometimes it is very inconvenient for them, Little said.
Charges are being filed against Rankin, but Little could not comment on the nature of those charges. Rankin is in custody at the Lawrence County jail in Deadwood.
Jan Kaus of the Lawrence County Journal contributed to this story.
Contact Andrea Cook at 394-8423 or andrea.cook@rapidcityjournal.com.
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