REEL 14

In Nov. 2011 a Colorado Springs (Colo.) woman hid in a closet when two men approached the house and tried to burglarize it.

In Nov. 2011 Thomas Fey stabbed is parents outside Orlando (Fla.) and then fled. The victims staggered outside, where a neighbor spotted them and dialed 911. The neighbor (armed with a pistol) described the scene, the getaway car, and searched for the second victim while on the phone with a Volusia County sheriff’s dispatcher.

In Dec. 2011 a woman drove the wrong way on I-80 outside New Orleans (La.), and several people dialed 911 to report it before she crashed, killing herself and another motorist.

In Dec. 2011 a Bay City (BC) man shot and killed his four children (ages 5 years to 18 months), shot his wife and then killed himself. School children walking past the trailer park noticed Jose Avila firing at his wife outside the trailer home, and dialed 911.

In Dec. 2011 an employee of Southern California Edison in Irwindale (S. Calif.) shot several co-workers and then killed himself. Several people dialed 911, including a security guard for the facility, who believed the shooting was occurring outside (it was actually inside the building). Two people and the suspect died.

In Dec. 2011 two burglars entered an Orange County (Fla.) home while the 17 year-old resident hid in an upstairs closet and dialed 911 to talk to a sheriff’s dispatcher. The burglars left and later crashed when they ran through a red light.

In Dec. 2011 a woman dialed 911 from her Spring Hill (Fla.) home to confess that she had killed her husband. A Hernando County sheriff’s dispatcher trainee Kristy Lang answered the call, but then her trainer Samantha Johnson took over the call.

In Jan. 2012 a Henderson (NC) teenage shot and wounded a man who had broken out the back glass door of the house. A Vance County sheriff’s dispatcher kept the 19 year-old on the line for 13 minutes as deputies responded.

In Dec. 2011 a deer hunter in Norton (Mass.) accidentally shot and wounded a woman walking her two dogs. The man dialed 911 from a rural farm to report the incident, and had trouble guiding emergency units to the scene.

In Jan. 2012 a student at Cummings Middle School in Brownsville (Tex.) brandished a pellet pistol, and the assistant principal dialed 911. A Brownsville dispatcher talked to the woman as the event unfolded. Officers confronted the youth, believed the gun was real and fatally shot him.

In Jan. 2012 two teens were walking on railroad tracks in Stark County (Ohio) when they failed to hear a train behind them. One youth was struck and killed, and his friend dialed 911 for help.

In Jan. 2012 two men were confronted by a gunman in a Sheboygan (Wisc.) Wal-Mart parking lot. Both were shot, and one died. Another friend dialed 911.

In March 2011 Katharine Mishler dialed 911 in Ypsilanti County (Mich.) to say she had shot an intruder that she did not know or recognize. However, arriving police determined the dead victim was her husband. A trial began in Jan. 2011.

In Jan. 2012 a boy in Valinda (Los Angeles County, Calif.) dialed 911 while hiding under his bedsheets when a burglar broke into his home. When deputies arrived, the suspect pretended to be the resident, but was arrested.

In Jan. 2012 a man in Romulus (Mich.) discovered his father dead with a plastic bag over his head. The son dialed 911 to report what he found. Police are investigating the incident as a homicide.

In Jan. 2012 a woman returned home to her Mundelein (Ill.) apartment to find her roommate stabbed. Alina Rybnikova later died, and police found her mother’s ex-boyfriend dead in a nearby car, apparently from a suicide. The mother was also stabbed, but survived.

In Jan. 2012 Frank Coleman allegedly robbed the U.S. Bank on Court St. in Cincinnati. He then drove to a nearby mall, and about 30 minutes later dialed 911 to turn himself in.

In Jan. 2012 a ex-soldier set a fire in his Fort Bragg (NC) apartment and then began shooting at arriving police. Neighbors called police to report the fire-shooting. Joshua Eisenhauer was shot twice by snipers but survived.

In Jan. 2012 a 5 year-old dialed 911 from the Mohegan Casino near Hartford (Conn.) to say he was in the hotel room alone while his mother gambled. A friendly Tribal Police dispatcher talked to the child while officers responded. They later arrested the mother for child neglect and an immigration warrant.

In Jan. 2012 a Charlotte (NC) man received a telephone call from his girlfriend’s phone, but heard only a commotion in the background before it was hung up. The girlfriend worked at a restaurant, and she did not return home from work. Three hours later the boyfriend dialed 911 to report she had not returned home, and believed the restaurant was being robbed. The calltaker misheard the address and restaurant name. Officers did not locate the restaurant, and found the girlfriend’s boy the next morning when workers arrived at the restaurant. Read more here .

In Jan. 2012 a woman entered a Willowick (Ohio) McDonalds, held the manger hostage, and was later shot by police, but survived. The manager dialed 911 to report the incident, and the phone line was open during the entire incident.

In Jan. 2012 dozens of cars crashed into each other along I-75 near Gainesville (Fla.), prompting some motorists to dial 911, even as the collisions continued.

In Jan. 2012 an Ogden (Utah) regional drug task force was serving a search warrant when the homeowner opened fire, wounding six officers, including one fatally. Listen to the 1-hour main channel radio tape , the service radio channel and a telephone call made by a sergeant.

In Feb. 2012 a Greensboro (NC) man shot at officers who responded to investigate his behavior after a 911 call from a friend reported he was acting bizarrely. Police safely took the man into custody 15 hours later.

In Feb. 2012 three patrons of a Naperville (Ill.) bar were stabbed, and one died. Several patrons in the Frankie’s Blue Room bar dialed 911. Shaun Wild was fatally wounded, and two other patrons survived.

In Feb. 2012 a burglar broke into a Oakland Park (Fla.) home while the occupants were home. A 14 year-old dialed 911 for help while the family hid. Police arrived, rescued the family and then used a canine unit to find the burglar inside.

In Feb. 2012 a male call the non-emergency number for the Sarasota County (Fla.) sheriff and told a dispatcher he had murdered his parents, had a bomb and was suicidal. He also gave a name and cellular telephone number. Deputies learned the all the information was false—except the cellular number and name. Read more about the incident.

In Feb. 2012 Brad Morgan dialed 911 from a Portland (Ore.) building to say he’d just robbed someone at knifepoint, had a gun and was suicidal. The dispatcher talked to him for 20 minutes until officers found him. He hung up, and was later shot after brandishing a replica firearm at officers.

In March 2012 a burglary suspect encountered the occupants of a Springville (Utah) home, and the homeowner shot and killed the man. The female occupant dialed 911 for help.

In March 2012 a burglar tried to gain entry to a Harper Woods (Mich.) home, but there were 3 children inside because of a half-day of school. A 10 year-old girl dialed 911 for help and reached 17-year veteran dispatcher Barb Skalba. Police arrived within 3½ minutes and apprehended two teens running from the house.

In March 2012 a 5 year-old Akron (Ohio) boy dialed 911 after his mother overdosed on heroin and was unconscious for several hours. In the meantime, the boy had to take care of his 2 year-old brother, and was concerned that he hadn’t properly prepared the baby’s formula.

In March 2012 a Hillsborough County (Fla.) man dialed 911 to report he had shot his ill wife, saying he couldn’t stand to see her suffer. Randall Willis was arrested for 2nd-degree murder.

In March 2012 a man entered a Muskogee (Okla.) Walmart, went to the rear sporting goods section, grabbed a long-rifle and tried to load it. Several people dialed 911 for help. The guns had trigger locks and the man was arrested by arriving officers.

In March 2012 a Tulsa (Okla.) man wanted for questioning in the death of his girlfriend broke into an occupied home two days later and confronted the elderly couple. The couple’s son arrived at the home, saw the suspect talking to his parents, and then dialed 911. Police arrived, shot and killed the Phillip Doll. Investigators have no explanation of why he picked the home or his motive for being there.