THREE OFFICERS INJURED, RENTAL HOME TORCHED AS SANDY SHORES CRIME SPREE ENDS IN AMBUSH SHOOTOUT

BLAINE COUNTY — Three law enforcement officers were injured and a recently renovated rental home was burned to the ground Thursday after a two-day crime spree that ended with suspects deliberately luring officers into an ambush, according to the Blaine County Sheriff's Office.

The pair — whose identities have not been released pending notification of family — allegedly attacked the residence of local resident Mason Bender, where several vehicles were destroyed in explosions and the home itself was struck by gunfire. Bender was not injured and relocated shortly after. Investigators believe threats and personal information tied to Bender were circulated around the same time in a series of now-deleted Lifeinvader posts, though a motive for the campaign remains unclear.

From there, the suspects fled the area by boat. Deputies then say a bit later, the pair placed a ransom call to 911 in a U-Tool parking lot before setting fire to a 24/7 convenience store, a call investigators now believe was a diversion rather than a genuine demand. The pair's final stop was a rental property on the outskirts of town owned by local landlord O'Neil, which investigators say the suspects had booked themselves in the days prior with the specific intent of ambushing responding officers. Federal Investigation Bureau agents, who had already been monitoring the earlier threats against Bender, had traced IP addresses tied to some of the Lifeinvader posts to the property. BCSO units, joined by State Police, were en route on that tip when the suspects opened fire as officers arrived, detonating a first round of explosives near the driveway. A standoff followed, with the suspects retreating deeper into the house and continuing to fire from upstairs windows as additional units set up a perimeter. Three officers were injured over the course of the exchange; both suspects were pronounced dead roughly forty minutes later.

By the time the scene was cleared, little of the property remained.

Investigators say the suspects threw multiple molotov cocktails throughout the home during the standoff and detonated at least two more vehicles in the driveway, leaving the house a total loss. Weazel News has confirmed this is the third time in the past year that a violent incident has occurred at the address, following an armed standoff in the spring and an unrelated shooting last winter — both times at properties listed by O'Neil.

Reached for comment, O'Neil seemed less concerned with the shootout itself than with the state of the paint job. "I just put a fresh coat on that place. New deck, new gutters, the whole thing. Gone. Again," he said, before pausing to add, "I really don't know why this keeps happening to this specific house. Bad luck, I guess."

Asked whether the property's history might be a factor in future incidents, O'Neil said he "hadn't really thought about it that way," and confirmed he plans to have a new listing up "probably by next weekend," noting he's "already got a few people interested."

The FIB says it has been working separately with Lifeinvader and Twotter to remove posts containing Bender's personal information, though both platforms have declined to comment publicly on the takedown effort. BCSO says the investigation remains open.