The Northern Arapaho Tribe is calling on the federal government to prosecute a Wyoming man on hate crime charges following the killing of one tribal member and the wounding of another at a detox center. There he shot two men in the head, killing one and critically wounding the other.
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Cpt Murphy said Clyde walked through a back door at the centre, past two staff members, and into an area for clients. Police say Clyde confessed that he was targeting the homeless population.
Riverton Police Captain Eric Murphy said Clyde told investigators he targeted the facility because he was exhausted of cleaning up after homeless people.
On Saturday afternoon at 4:30, dispatchers received a call from Roy Clyde saying he shot two people at the Center of Hope.
“Clyde stated during the interview that his intent was to kill and that he intended to kill as many people meeting his criteria as he could”, County 10 reported, quoting the affidavit. “Park rangers” is a common term used in Riverton describing homeless alcoholics, and often referring to Native Americans who come to Riverton from the surrounding Wind River Reservation where alcohol is illegal. It was unclear whether the victims were actually homeless.
Despite this, Clyde told investigators his actions were not racially charged and that he would have done the same if he had encountered a white client at the detox center. Law enforcement agencies commonly take all sorts of people there who have been abusing alcohol or drugs, Murphy said.
“In my mind at least, clearly there is some hate involved”, Police Chief Mike Broadhead told KCWY.
A judge on Monday ordered Roy Clyde, 32, of Riverton held without bond. CNN could not determine if he has a lawyer.
The reservation is home to the Northern Arapaho and Eastern Shoshone tribes.
“The trend of violence against Indian people in and around Riverton is alarming”, Dean Goggles, chairman of the Northern Arapaho Business Council, said in a prepared statement. “I’ve lived here my whole life, and the anti-Indian sentiment seems to be getting worse”.
Stallone Trosper was killed and James “Sonny” Goggles Jr underwent emergency treatment at SageWest Health Care Hospital.
Staff and patients barricaded themselves inside the facility to try and avoid Clyde, but he put his gun down, walked out and was arrested a short time later.
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The center, run by Volunteers of America, caters to anyone with addiction problems.
