A week later, Howard County still in shock at Deputy Koontz’ death
KOKOMO, Ind. (WISH) – It’s been one week since Howard County Sheriff’s Deputy Carl Koontz was killed in the line of duty, and the community is still in shock.
“It’s kind of shocking to see such a little town be traumatized with this,” said Kinedy Bouse, while visiting the memorial outside the sheriff’s department.
- PHOTOS: Rose Ride honors Deputy Koontz
Funeral services will begin Monday for Deputy Koontz. Visitation is from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Northwestern High School.
As the memorial grows, signs of support are popping up everywhere around Kokomo.
“It’s good that they’re all coming together and making things happen for his family,” said Bouse.
A steady stream of mourners stopped by the memorial Sunday seemingly every minute.
“I just wanted to pay our respects to him,” said Jonnie McWilliams, who went with her granddaughters.
Those mourners included students who Deputy Koontz swore to protect.
“He was nice and funny and we never saw him without a smile on his face,” said Isaac Willey, who is a student at Northwestern High School where Deputy Koontz was a school resource officer.
“Every morning when we came to school he had a smile on his face,” said Landon Guse, another Northwestern student.
Beyond Kokomo where Deputy Koontz worked, shock is also being felt in Russiaville, where he was shot while serving a warrant.
“From the day after you could tell that something had happened. People weren’t going about their day normally,” said Bouse.
“There was nobody the day after it happened so you could tell something had happened,” said Breanna Bouse.
If you would like to show your support for Deputy Koontz and his family, a GoFundMe account has been established, and the Kokomo Fraternal Order of Police has endorsed several campaigns.