Good Guy with a Gun #212: Fort Dodge, IA

He was a beloved soccer coach. He died breaking into a garage at 5 AM. Something had gone badly wrong. | Original incident: May 31, 2023

These posts are based on our Good Guy with a Gun calendar. Today’s post is somewhat updated from the calendar version.

A lot of people apparently knew and loved Bryan W. Gambill from Fort Dodge, Iowa. On the Fort Dodge PD’s Facebook post, for example, one woman wrote, “My son’s first soccer coach. My son loved this guy.”

Something went wrong.

Shortly after 5 AM one morning, a homeowner faced the 44-year-old as he was breaking into his garage. The homeowner shot Gambill and called 911.

Gambill was pronounced dead at the scene. The Webster County Attorney’s Office ruled the shooting self-defense and declined to file charges.

This sounds like a tragedy. But the tragedy started before Gambill entered the garage, and the homeowner’s role in it was reasonable. He wasn’t the bad guy: He just defended his home.

Erratum

This was tagged in the calendar as a 2024 incident, but it took place in 2023. I apologize for the error.

Sources

The Fort Dodge PD posted to Facebook and included images of their original report and an update that identified Gambill as the man who died. I’m including both of those here.

Gambill’s obituary has more comments on it than a typical criminal’s does. That’s not dispositive, but I found it suggestive of the fact that he had been a good man, but had gone wrong in his life. The comments on the FDPD’s Facebook post have a similar tone.

News sources

We Are Iowa 5 carried the initial story and provided an update in August when the Webster County Attorney’s Office found that the homeowner had acted in self-defense.

The Messenger posted initial coverage and another article when Gambill was identified.