Key Takeaways
- A man named Douglas A. Flagg was shot while attempting to break into a home in Mackay, Idaho, at 3:16 a.m. on August 11.
- Flagg received medical treatment and was later released from the hospital after the incident.
- He was arrested on August 13 and faces felony charges including aggravated assault and attempted burglary.
- The sheriff’s office has not identified who fired the shot or whether the homeowner was injured.
- Custer County’s sparse population means emergency responses can be delayed in critical situations.
Estimated reading time: 3 minutes
MACKAY, ID — A Grace man was shot while trying to force his way into a home in the Mackay area at 3:16 in the morning, and two days later he was arrested on felony charges, according to the Custer County Sheriff’s Office.
Dispatchers took a 911 call at about 3:16 a.m. on August 11 from a 47-year-old man at the home reporting a shooting, as reported by KIFI Local News 8. Deputies responded to the residence while Mackay Ambulance crews staged nearby until the scene was secured.
Investigators identified the man who was shot as Douglas A. Flagg of Grace. Deputies say Flagg was shot while attempting to force his way into the home. He was treated at the scene, transported to a hospital for further care, and later released.
Deputies say Flagg and the homeowner knew each other. The sheriff’s office has not released the nature of that relationship or what led up to the confrontation.
Knowing the person on the other side of your door does not tell you anything useful at 3:16 in the morning. What matters is the conduct. Deadly force is justified only against an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm, and that is the same standard armed citizens across the country carry under every day. What deputies describe is a man forcing his way into an occupied home in the middle of the night, and the people inside had seconds, not minutes, to read it.
Flagg was taken into custody on August 13 on an outstanding warrant stemming from the August 11 incident. He has been charged with felony aggravated assault, attempted burglary, and malicious injury to property. Those charges are allegations, and he is presumed innocent unless convicted.
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The sheriff’s office has not identified who fired the shot, has not said whether anyone inside the home was hurt, and has not announced any charging decision involving the resident. Prosecutors make that final call, not deputies and not me.
This is also a reminder of where the Mackay area sits. Custer County is wide, thinly populated central Idaho, and a call that goes out at 3:16 a.m. gets answered by whoever is on shift and however far away they happen to be. Nobody inside that house was waiting on help that could arrive in ninety seconds.
