Sheriff: Man Shot, Killed In Sequoyah County Standoff

The Sequoyah County Sheriff's Office says a 57-year-old man was shot and killed by a SWAT team sniper during a standoff Thursday evening.

Sheriff Larry Lane says deputies got a call just after 4 p.m. about a possible suicidal man who had barricaded himself inside a home near Roland. 

Lane told KFSM, the CBS affiliate in Fort Smith, when deputies and Oklahoma Highway Patrol troopers arrived, Paul Mashburn started yelling out a window that he had guns and gasoline and would shoot anyone who came near the home.

The sheriff's office says Mashburn was wanted on charges in Sequoyah County as well as Van Buren, Arkansas.  

Sheriff Lane said due to the threats and Mashburn's past criminal history, he asked for assistance from the Cherokee Nation Marshals Service SWAT team.

After several hours of talking with Paul Mashburn, deputies say he broke out several windows as well as started a fire inside the home.

Shortly after that, Sheriff Lane says Mashburn opened a window and pointed a pistol at officers.  He says that is when a police sniper fired a shot, killing Mashburn.

The Roland Fire Department then put out the fire.

Sheriff Larry Lane issued the following statement:

“I would like to recognize and thank Deputy Christian Goode for staying calm and truly trying to end the standoff peacefully, by staying in constant communication with Mr. Mashburn for several hours, this was a very stressful situation for everyone involved, and unfortunately this ended with a man losing his life.  I would also like to thank the Roland Fire Department for standing by at the scene for several hours and being quick to spring into action when the time came, these firemen deployed quickly and got the fire suppressed before the home was totally burned up, the Cherokee Marshal’s, OHP troopers, and Sequoyah County Deputies provided security for the firemen while they worked to get the fire out.”