David Impson in his jail booking photo
Former gun dealer hostage crisis ends peacefully
Editor and publisher
Police from multiple counties surrounded the Goessel home of a formerly licensed gun dealer for more than an hour New Year’s Eve after receiving reports that he had barricaded himself and several children inside and fired a weapon at least once.
A number of children reportedly escaped, at least one of them through a rear window.
They were relocated from a nearby home to a tactical command post set up at Goessel High School by Marion County emergency medical services and an incident response team apparently summoned from nearby Harvey County.
Despite some children managing to escape, officers on the scene reported that numerous other people remained in the house as police and sheriff’s deputies surrounded it.
At one point, Marion County sheriff’s deputy David Harper-Head reported that the man had opened a front door and, with a weapon in his hand, “challenged” law enforcement officers.
Property records indicate that the home, at 301 E. Commercial St., is owned by David Matthew Impson, who used to have a federal license to operate a firearms dealership known as Is 2:4 Armory there.
Monitored transmissions confirmed that the standoff was at the Impson residence.
“Is 2:4” apparently is a reference to this Bible verse from Isaiah, translated in the New International Version of the Bible as:
“He will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples. They will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.”
Monitored radio transmissions indicated that the gunman fired at least one shot, either into the air or into a bathroom wall, before officers arrived.
In addition to Harper-Head, sheriff’s deputy Bronson Shipman and Hillsboro officer Randy Brazil appeared to have been part of the team surrounding the house.
Ambulances from Hillsboro, Marion, Tampa, and Florence either were dispatched to the high school or repositioned near Marion and Hillsboro during the incident.
The initial call for help came at 8:48 p.m. A hostage negotiator and a sharpshooter, both apparently from Harvey County, were quickly brought in.
An officer identifying himself as the incident commander at one point called for a sharpshooter or even a local volunteer to shoot out a street light with a .22-caliber rifle.
A female was seen exiting the house around 10:10 p.m. Two minutes later, the suspect was reported to be taken into custody by Harper-Head.
A call for an armored vehicle reportedly en route from Reno County was immediately canceled, and Sheriff Rob Craft radioed instructions that the suspect should be held at Marion County Jail.
Impson, 41, was booked into the jail at 6:38 a.m. New Year’s Day on suspicion of aggravated assault, aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer, kidnapping, and aggravated child endangerment. Bond was is $150,000.