The officer comes in without a light. The suspect fires first and the officer returned fire. The suspect later died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound and the suspect’s mother suffered a grazing wound. How can we expect officers to make sound decisions in a gunfight when they can’t see the threat? We teach officers that they’re accountable for every round they fire. Firing into darkness makes that responsibility impossible. Whether it was the officer’s decision or the agency’s decision not to equip the handgun with a weapon-mounted light, it was a mistake. Backstory: Youngstown Police say an officer responding to a domestic disturbance shortly after midnight on June 13, 2024 encountered O’Malley inside the home with a woman and her daughter. As the door opened, the daughter reportedly told the officer O’Malley had a gun pointed at her mother. According to police, O’Malley fired first and the officer returned fire. O’Malley was found in a bedroom with a handgun nearby. Officers and EMS provided aid. The woman suffered a grazing wound to her thigh; no officers were injured. The Mahoning County Coroner’s Office ruled O’Malley’s death a suicide. An autopsy found that he died from a contact-range gunshot wound to the head, fired from his own handgun. He was pronounced dead on June 13.