Sheriff Robinson, Mayor Winnecke commend bravery of law enforcement

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE) - Less than an hour after the suspect in an active shooting at Evansville’s west side Walmart was shot and killed, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Noah Robinson said the situation could’ve been a lot worse.

[Previous story: Woman shot at Evansville Walmart; Suspect killed]

Police say Ronald Mosley II, an ex-Walmart employee, made his way into the employee break room, where he shot Amber Cook in the face.

Less than 20 minutes later, the suspect was shot and killed by law enforcement after a chase around the store and several rounds of gunfire were exchanged.

Robinson said Thursday he was proud of his deputies and Evansville police officers for the way they handled the active shooter situation.

Monday, he once again credited their response to their training.

“We do firearms training involving not just live fire but simulated fire multiple times a year,” Robinson said. “It’s never enough, but we do as much as we possibly can. And I’ll put our training regimen up against any other training regimen in the state.”

He says the way the sheriff’s office has evolved their training over the past 20 years has made deputies more prepared for when the drill becomes reality.

Evansville Mayor Lloyd Winnecke commended the sheriff’s office and Evansville police for risking their own lives to protect people who were in the store.

He says there is no doubt in his mind that they saved lives.

“It was difficult body cam video to watch because it was real time,” Winnecke said. “It was chilling, it was heroic, it really made me proud to know that we have that kind of commitment for public safety in our community.”

Robinson took office at the beginning of the year. One of the first things he did was establish a program with mandatory counseling for deputies who experience trauma on the job.

He says before the shooting at Walmart, there was an inmate in the jail who attempted to take his own life with a pen. Robinson says the jail staff who saved the inmate’s life were shaken up by the incident.

Then, later that evening, Mosley opened fire at Walmart.

Robinson says these situations are why he implemented the program — to help address the mental and emotional scars like they would the physical ones.

One deputy was involved in the shooting of Mosley, but Robinson says at least a dozen more were inside the store, searching for the suspect.

Evansville’s west side Walmart remains closed for the time being. Signs at the door say the store will reopen Wednesday, Jan. 25 at 6 a.m.

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