Halloween nightmare avoided

Standing between the threat of an armed man and a church full of friends and family, Jason Fosgate considered himself lucky. Just think what could happen if my partners and I were not here, Fosgate thought. 

The 31-year-old father of three knew his wife, Rebecka, was out with the kids for Halloween, but he was unsure if his wife had taken the children to Libby Christian Church, where Rebecka is a member. Now, Fosgate was checking the church perimeter, making sure Mason Risteau, a mentally unstable and armed 20-year-old, could not enter without alerting police to his whereabouts. 

It was about 7:30 p.m. when Risteau led police to the church parking lot after driving around Libby for an hour and a half. Earlier, Risteau’s mother reported her son had stolen the family’s 2005 Chevrolet Suburban and taken off with a loaded 7mm rifle. Shortly after, Risteau called authorities.

“Come and get me,” Risteau told police.

At the peak of Halloween celebration, Risteau posed a serious threat. Known to the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office as potentially mentally unstable, Risteau was involved in a pretrial diversion agreement in October of 2013 after being charged with partner-family member assault for allegedly hitting his three-year-old sister in the head. Part of the agreement required anger-management counseling and strict compliance with the recommendations of mental health professionals.

Risteau’s second call to police came at 7:17 p.m. The call was traced to the intersection of Idaho Avenue and Ninth Street. This time, he said the rifle was in his lap and he was going to pull the trigger if “you don’t find me pretty soon.”

Concerned about a potentially lethal confrontation with an unstable young man, Sheriff’s Office Sergeant Brandon Holzer told deputies to keep their distance from Risteau’s sports utility vehicle as he left the city and crossed Kootenai River bridge.

Fosgate and fellow Sheriff’s Office Reserve Deputy Gene King were assigned to Asa Wood School where the department annually participates in a trunk-or-treat celebration. The pair followed developments from the beginning on the radio, handing out candy to children. Fosgate and King hoped the flashing lights on the department vehicle would ward off Risteau. 

Shortly after Fosgate and King followed Risteau across the bridge, Libby Police officer Jonathan Graham blocked traffic on the bridge. 

“As soon as he found out he was headed to the Christian Church, he stopped traffic,” Libby Police Chief Jim Smith said. “We had to keep him out of town.”

Between 400 and 500 people were at the church when Risteau jumped out of his mother’s vehicle with a loaded hunting rifle. Pastor Phil Alspaw said deputies directed him to lock down the building. 

“We didn’t make a large announcement or anything,” Alspaw said. “We had a huge party going, so we let the party go. We positioned people at the doors and continued on.”

As Fosgate diverted traffic from the church parking lot and walked around the perimeter of the building, King, 43, manned the front door. Every corner, every car was a potential hiding spot. A volunteer with one-and-a-half years of experience, King had one thought.

“I just knew he wasn’t getting past me,” King said. 

A utility worker with the Army Corps of Engineers at the Libby Dam, King was born and raised in Libby. Hundreds of friends, family and acquaintances stood behind him. 

“I was nervous as hell,” King said. “I don’t know if this guy is going to commit suicide or if he wanted help from us in that. I was afraid for everyone involved.”

As King and Fosgate stood guard, Holzer and Deputy Boyd White chased Risteau on foot toward Pipe Creek Road. Risteau was apprehended shortly after near the Plum Creek Timber office. No shots were fired.

“That could have been very violent, very quickly,” Lincoln County Sheriff Roby Bowe said. “This county has a large amount of mentally ill people, and you don’t know what they are thinking. It’s wrong to think people are not looking for ways to hurt themselves or others. That’s what we prepare and train for.”

Bowe said his officers last trained for an active shooter a few months ago. Fosgate said that training and the efforts of full-time officers to incorporate reserve deputies in their training exercises paid off in a huge way Friday night. 

“It could have been really bad,” Fosgate said. “Anytime I go out there I go through a mental checklist. This was the first time something like this happened in Libby in a long time. I relied on my training, and everyone went home safe.”

Reflecting on the seemingly endless stream of school and church shootings in recent years, Alspaw and Associate Minister Dean Byrns saw a lesson in a crisis averted. 

“More than anything we view it as a positive story in the midst of many tragedies because it didn’t end differently than it did,” Alspaw said. “Because of places like New Haven and Columbine and so on, we get the privilege of looking at it and saying we had a different ending.”

Alspaw said church leadership had thought of the potential for such an attack in the past, but carried on in faith. While the church does not have a formal protocol for such scenarios, Alspaw said leadership was well aware of parishioners’ backgrounds and expertise. While the church does not encourage guns in the building, the church does give away a gun every Thursday during hunting season.

Looking back, the moment passed by so quickly — it was 15 minutes from church lockdown to Risteau’s arrest — it was hard to grasp how easily the situation could have turned horrible.

“Shoo, that was close,” Byrns said. “He didn’t do something that later in life he would regret. Here is a 20-year-old not facing the consequences of taking someone’s life.”

Shortly after arresting Risteau, officers were informed of an earlier report of a man brandishing a weapon at Cabinet Peaks Medical Center. The man was later confirmed to be Risteau, and he is currently facing two city charges of aggravated assault. 

Lincoln County Attorney Bernie Cassidy said there are no charges, yet, against Risteau from the county. Risteau is scheduled for an adjudicatory hearing at 1 p.m. Thursday in district court. 

Bowe said he was proud of the way his deputies handled the situation. Bowe said his sister, Cristy Stewart, and several friends were inside the church when Risteau arrived. 

“Law enforcement is sometimes criticized as being too aggressive, but you just don’t know what people might want to do,” Bowe said. “You train for that one percent chance of someone looking to hurt people.”

Assessing the way the situation was handled, Libby Police Chief Smith said he could not imagine a better outcome.

“They went by the book,” Smith said. “It was an excellent performance by officers. We got a law enforcement to be proud of.”