Off-duty Homewood police officer shot in Moody, suspect dead

From Tribune staff reports

MOODY, Alabama – A Homewood police officer is recovering after being shot on his way to work Sunday morning, according to Moody police.

According to Moody Police Chief Reece Smith, the Homewood police officer was shot multiple times as he sat in his car outside an apartment in the 2700 block of Ross Drive in Moody.

The officer, who was off-duty at the time, suffered a gunshot wound to the face and retreated to the apartment where he lived.

Moody Police responded around 4:35 a.m. and observed the Homewood Police vehicle struck by gunfire.

Police found the injured officer in the apartment and Regional Paramedical Service transported him to UAB Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.

According to Police Chief Smith, officers identified the suspected shooter as Brandon Gaines, a 30-year-old white man whose estranged wife also lived in the home.

Smith said the shooting was related to a domestic dispute and the victim was not targeted because he was a police officer.

According to court documents, Gaines had a temporary protection from abuse order against her, a court order that protects women who have been physically abused or threatened by their partners.

Gaines did not live in Moody at the time of the shooting.

While searching the area, officers encountered Gaines carrying several firearms, including an AR-style rifle, which he used to shoot the off-duty officer.

A view of the forest area where the incident occurred. Image via Google Maps.

Crisis negotiators began speaking with Gaines, who was about 50 feet away in a wooded area next to Queens Court, separated from police by a fence.

Additional police officers took up positions on a hill behind Gaines and surrounded him.

“Our goal was to get him to give up, and we got him to come closer to us when we got him to drop his weapons,” Smith said.

Negotiations lasted about five hours, with Gaines getting within 20 feet of negotiators before admitting that he had another gun, which he used to commit suicide.

“The officers did everything they could to end it without, you know, what happened,” Smith said.

“They did everything they could and they gave everything they had. So my thoughts are not only with the families of everyone involved, but also with the officers.”

The investigation is ongoing.