Cubby
fly the W!
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Highlighted by me:
These sound like close contact wounds that were obtained during a struggle. My guess would be that the shot to the stomach area was first, followed shortly thereafter by the shot to the rear neck region after the gun was wrestled away from Gliniewicz. All you need to envision is two men rolling around on the ground fighting over possession of a firearm with the one that grabbed the gun first being the person pulling the trigger as the struggle ensued.
Neither one of those would be considered a killshot by someone standing a distance away and aiming the gun carefully. The normal target would either be center mass of the chest or back, or a shot to the head. To me this sounds more like the perp grabbed Gliniewicz's gun while he was distracted, at which point Gliniewicz grabbed the subject and attempted to wrestle him down to the ground and regain control of the weapon. As they were rolling prone on the ground, the perp managed to squeeze the trigger and shoot upwards under Gliniewicz's vest. Although this wound would have been life-threatening, I don't know that it would have instantly incapacitated Gliniewicz, but most likely would have sent him into a state of shock. The second shot sounds almost as if the perp was lying prone under Gliniewicz and reached the gun around behind his head and pulled the trigger while being pinned under him. Sort of a "get off of me" shot, if that makes sense.
It's easy to understand how there may have been a DNA transfer from the suspect to Gliniewicz if a struggle such as that actually happened. Also, Gliniewicz was still alive when the other officers reached the scene, which would indicate that the suspect didn't get up, brush himself off, and then deliver a kill shot. He wiggled out from underneath Gliniewicz after the two shots, then got up and ran.
What the other two guys were doing during all of this is left to be determined. They may have been running off into the swamp, they may have been standing idly by watching the entire struggle unfold.
They may have doubled back after the shooting and formulated an escape plan with the shooter.
I think it is most likely that the shooter in this case had prior contact with law enforcement. It takes a lot of anger, resentment, and balls to grab a cop's gun and try to shoot him with his own weapon. I know it hasn't been confirmed that Gliniewicz's gun was the weapon used, but judging by the location of the wounds, it definitely looks as if there was a struggle for a weapon going on. The perp most likely still had the gun in his hand when he crawled out from underneath Gliniewicz, and that may be why it took them awhile to find it. After the gun was swabbed, they may have also found a DNA transfer due to sweaty hands. On the other hand, the perp could have wiped the gun down with his shirt prior to tossing it into the weeds, which would eliminate both DNA and fingerprints.
I think it is more likely that DNA was found during the process of swabbing Gliniewicz after he was pronounced dead, probably at the coroners office. If there indeed was a hand-to-hand struggle going on, it is very easy to understand how that transfer could have happened through sweat, spit, skin cells or blood left on Gliniewicz's skin or clothing.
A 40 caliber bullet is a BIG bullet. It would cause a fatal wound where smaller bullets might not. Due to the positions the wounds were found, it makes sense that Gliniewicz may have survived for a short time, while at the same time, both wounds would have proven fatal eventually if for no other reason than blood loss. The enormous impact a 40 caliber bullet would have on the human body is another reason I'm leaning towards Gliniewicz's own weapon being used in the assault.
Definitely something to think about. A few questions though. Was it said via msm he was hit with a 40 caliber bullet? Also, I was under the impression the bullet described as being in the area of the vest meant the bullet hit the vest, not the subject.
Now, if someone was laying on top in a struggle why would they shoot the back of the neck area? Wouldn't that be risky that the bullet would hit both of them?