Weapon used by hostage taker was a pen

Thursday, Dec. 3, 1998 | 2:14 a.m.

Mike Smith, 20, of Terre Haute, Ind., was shot in the head and killed on Tuesday by a police officer after holding what appeared to be a knife to the throat of his 16-year-old girlfriend.

Smith had taken the girl hostage and ordered all 25 passengers off the bus at Elko. No one else was hurt.

Officer Mike Smith, a 15-year department veteran and no relation to the suspect, shot the hostage taker on the bus after he refused orders to drop the weapon and lunged at the officer, police said.

Elko Police Capt. Bill Bauer said the upper barrel of the 9-inch pen was blue, with the lower part being chrome and metal with a retractable point.

He described the pen as being tapered and very pointed. He said Smith had depressed the metal tip into the girl's neck and officers considered the pen to be a deadly weapon.

Bauer also said the victim told police she was convinced Smith was going to kill her and she feared for her life.

A board made up of representatives of various law enforcement agencies will meet on Tuesday to review the incident. Such a procedure is routine when officers are involved in shootings.

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