The suspect responsible for an overnight shooting which injured four occupants of a vehicle is now in custody.
At around 9:45 p.m. on March 28th, police were dispatched to the 200 block of Columbus Street for a report of gunshots heard in the area. On arrival, police located a passenger vehicle that had left the north side of Columbus Street and had come to rest in a ditch. Police made contact with the occupants of the vehicle and observed that the driver had been shot multiple times. Two other occupants were also injured by the gunfire. A fourth occupant received injuries in the subsequent crash after the vehicle had left the road. The occupants of the vehicle were transported to the hospital via ambulance to be treated for their injuries.
Police began canvassing the neighborhood. After speaking to multiple residents of the neighborhood, police received information identifying a possible suspect in the shooting.
Based on this information, police directed their efforts to locating the suspect, identified as 28-year-old Dwight Quigley of Rapid City.
Police received information that Quigley was inside a residence at 213 Federal Avenue. Several officers, including a police K9 team, had formed a perimeter around the residence. As police attempted to make contact with Quigley, he fled out the back side of the apartment. The K9 was deployed and bit Quigley. He continued to ignore police commands and was Tasered in order for police to get him handcuffed. He was brought to the Public Safety Building to speak with detectives about the incident.
At this time, there is no reason to believe Quigley had any prior relationship with the shooting victims. For that reason, police believe the shooting incident to be random in nature. A .223 semi-automatic rifle has been recovered in the investigation, and is believed to be the weapon used in the shooting.
Quigley has since been placed under arrest for four counts of Attempted Murder in addition to Possession of a Loaded Firearm While Intoxicated. Quigley has a significant criminal history with local law enforcement. That history includes convictions for multiple thefts, an accessory-to-a-burglary conviction, and a domestic-violence-related incident.
“This is the second major incident our night-shift officers have had to respond to in less than a week’s time,” says Captain James Johns, commander of the RCPD’s Patrol Division. “Based on the random nature of this shooting, Quigley’s apprehension is a testament to the skilled police-work executed by our dedicated officers and detectives. I’m extremely thankful that, at this point in the case, this suspect’s blatant disregard for human life did not turn a shooting investigation into a homicide investigation.”
* The charges are merely accusations and the arrested individual is presumed innocent until proven guilty. Any additional details regarding this case can be obtained from the Pennington County State’s Attorney and/or court records as appropriate.