Pullman man who was fatally shot by SWAT officer after threat to roommates identified as Army vet

MOSCOW, Idaho – The Washington man who recently triggered a SWAT response to an apartment complex in Pullman near the Washington State University campus on Dec. 15 has been identified as Brent Lee Kopacka, according to the Whitman County coroner.

Authorities responded to the scene on the 1000 block of SE Latah Street in Pullman on the evening of Dec. 14 because Kopacka "was threatening to kill his roommates," according to Pullman police. 

Kopacka, 36, allegedly barricaded himself inside his apartment after police tried to speak with him. As crisis negotiators tried to make contact, he "began firing from his apartment," at which point the building residents were evacuated, Pullman Police Chief Jake Opgenorth wrote in a Dec. 15 press release.

"After unsuccessful negotiations, escalating behavior and continued danger to the public and officers, the male was shot by a member of the Whitman County Regional SWAT Team. The suspect was found deceased when the Whitman County Regional SWAT Team cleared the apartment," Opgenorth said at the time. 

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His manner of death is listed as a homicide by a gunshot wound, according to coroner Annie Pillers.

Kopacka had "a traumatic brain injury sustained in combat in Afghanistan, which led to a 16-year ongoing battle with severe PTSD," his obituary states.

Kopacka served in the U.S. Army between 2005 and 2009. Kopacka's family said in his obituary that he "fought a courageous battle against PTSD" for 16 years, "but in the end he couldn’t break free."

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Photos from the scene show law enforcement personnel and vehicles descended upon an area adjacent to the south side of the WSU Pullman campus in the early morning hours of Dec. 15. Neighbors and witnesses stated they heard gunshots in the area.

The building is located just 15 minutes, and about nine miles, from the crime scene in Moscow, Idaho, where four University of Idaho students were killed more than one month ago.

The proximity of the Pullman incident to U of I led to some concern among locals and speculation that the two events could be related, but Pullman authorities have said they do not believe there is any connection. The two typically quiet college towns have been on edge since the Nov. 13 quadruple homicide.

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