Bio & Incident Details
Age: 38
Tour: 11 years, 6 months
Badge # Not available
Cause: Gunfire
Location: Indiana
Incident Date: 9/22/1986
Weapon: Shotgun
Suspect: Committed suicide
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Probation Officer Thomas Gahl was shot and killed while attempting a home contact in Marion County, Indiana, at the residence of a newly-released probationer with a life-long history of mental illness.
The purpose of the visit was to have obtained a urine specimen to determine whether the probationer had been taking drugs. Before Officer Gahl could do so, he was struck with three shotgun blasts by the offender in an unprovoked attack.
At the time of the shooting, Officer Gahl, like other officers in his district were not armed. While being pursued during the manhunt that followed, the offender's crime spree included two other murders and several kidnappings before ending with the offender committing suicide.
Officer Gahl had served with the United States Probation Office for the Southern District of Indiana for 11½ years. He had previously served with the Indiana Department of Correction, the Federal Bureau of Prisons and was a US Marine Corps veteran of the Vietnam War. Officer Gahl was survived by his wife, two young sons, brother and mother.
On June 24, 1994, the Thomas E. Gahl United States Probation Office was dedicated at the Indianapolis, Indiana, headquarters in his honor.
