Patrick Shawn Dowdell

Deadly force

Patrick Shawn Dowdell and his wife were in the middle of getting a divorce Dowdell did not want. Dowdell had attempted to strangle his wife with a belt and had been charged with assault. His wife decided to drop the assault charges and immediately after she'd signed documents to that effect, Dowdell shot her with a handgun in the courthouse lobby. Dowdell shot and injured three others, including a police officer, before another police officer shot and killed Dowdell. Dowdell's wife had a restraining order against him, but a judge allowed Dowdell to keep his guns.