The recent quadruple homicide in Herkimer, New York ended with the 64-year-old shooter, Kurt Meyers, dead at the hands of what media outlets are referring to a “SWAT” or “police tactical team.” It turns out the raid against Meyers in an abandoned bar was conducted by the assaulters from the FBIs Hostage Rescue Team, or simply HRT.

On Wednesday March 13th, Kurt Meyers set fire to his home and went on a random shooting spree that left four people dead and two others wounded. The wounded remain in critical condition. In the aftermath of the shooting, armed with the same shotgun he used to kill four people, Meyers barricaded himself in an abandoned bar in Herkimer called Glory Days. It was that same evening that a team from HRT was stood up to deploy on-site and assist in the developing situation. Seven men and one dog, who were all present in Alabama last month during the hostage rescue of a five-year-old kindergartner, loaded onto helicopters in Quantico, Virginia and flew North to Herkimer.

It was decided Thursday morning that the team from HRT would assault the building. Around 8:00 am, the breach was initiated and the team’s dog was the first through the door. Ape, a two year old Czech German Shepherd, had a camera attached to his body that was being monitored by the agents outside. The first shotgun blast from Meyers missed Ape and destroyed the camera. The second shot hit Ape in the chest, killing him instantly. Not seconds behind, the HRT assaulters stormed through the breach-point and immediately engaged and killed Kurt Meyers.

The FBI states that Ape possibly saved the lives of the first men through the door, as Meyers was hiding in wait with his shotgun trained on the entrance. The two shots he used to engage Ape would have certainly been used to engage the first man in the building.

(Image Credit: AP wireservices)