Wednesday, September 24, 2003
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Wednesday, September 24, 2003 |
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PTC councilwoman's son in coma after shooting By JOHN MUNFORD
An Opelika, Ala. police officer who is the son of Peachtree City Councilwoman Annie McMenamin remained in a coma Tuesday afternoon after he was shot Friday morning while investigating a domestic violence report, police said. Lt. Terry McMenamin, 41, was shot twice in the face after responding to the scene after 1:30 a.m. A second officer, Brantley Cargill, was hit on the top of the head, police said. McMenamin developed complications over the weekend, suffering two strokes, said his sister, Susan Brown, a local attorney with Webb, Lindsey, Collins, Jones and Wade. McMenamin will lose one of his eyes where he was shot, and he also has suffered arterial damage and a hematoma to his brain, Brown said. Annie McMenamin said she was very grateful for the support from the Fayette community and her son's friends in law enforcement who have dropped by to check on him. "They've been so kind," McMenamin said, adding that she is thankful her son is alive and has a chance to recover. "He's very, very strong and very, very determined or he wouldn't have gotten this far." A fund has been established for the McMenamin family at Charter Bank in Opelika. McMenamin and his wife, Michael, live in Opelika with their children: Ashleigh, 13, Nick, 11, and Patrick, 2. McMenamin has been with the department for over 16 years, said Capt. Melvin Harrison of the Opelika Police Department. The incident hits even closer to home for the McMenamin family as Brown's husband, Mark, is a sergeant with the Peachtree City Police Department. The gunman, Raymond O'Neal Robison, 45, opened fire at the officers early Friday morning after refusing orders to drop his weapon, police said. After Robison started shooting, officers returned fire, killing Robison, police said. Robison's wife was escorted from the scene before the shooting began and was uninjured, police said. The shooting is being investigated by the Alabama Bureau of Investigation, police said. A multitude of neighboring police agencies responded to the scene when the call for immediate officer assistance was put out on the radio system, Harrison said. Agencies responding included the Lee County Sheriff's Department, the Auburn Police Department, the Auburn University Police Department, the Chambers County Sheriff's Department, the Valley Police Department, the Lanett Police Department and the West Point (Ga.) Police Department.
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