By: Diane Benjamin
Thanks to an anonymous US mail source for this story. I had to file a FOIA request before reporting it.
The actual number might be higher, but I’m going with 7.
Before showing you this story I need to tell you a backstory. Firefighters and police respond to evil and unimaginable violence without publicly complaining. They signed up to help people, sometimes they can’t.
I did not remember this story from 2017: https://www.wglt.org/show/wglts-sound-ideas/2017-09-19/police-fatal-fire-intentionally-set-2-children-among-dead
I’m pretty sure that story doesn’t capture what the firemen who were there experienced when they found two tiny murdered children. The father who did it then set a fire and committed suicide. He intended for his sleeping wife to die but she escaped. I was told the father zip-tied the kids hands before killing them.
It get worse. I’m told the mental health of firemen in the past was not a priority. Fireman #7 was there. I’m told those responding got no time off and no help dealing with what they saw. They were expected to suck it up. Some can do that, evidently not all can without help.
Fireman seven is named Tyson Schultz. He has been charged with 1 count of Aggravated Domestic Battery and 2 counts of Domestic Battery/Bodily Harm.
You can read the police reports below. Keep in mind he is innocent until proven guilty. There are references in the report to PTSD. That has been validated to me by other sources.
The current Fire Chief has made mental health a higher priority. Maybe 72 hours off instead of 48 will also help. Thank both the police and firemen you run into. They need our suport.
McLean County State’s Attorney-please get the help this guy needs and it is not jail or reporting to your probation department. When will the City of Bloomington acknowledge that police and firemen need help. Don’t tell them to suck it up. This is not the only City of Bloomington employee that has said I have PTSD only for the city to turn their backs on them. City needs to stop playing political and actually do something that benefits their employees and their citizens. Yes, a domestic happened. No one is saying that it did not, but the underlying issue is not being resolved. Get this guy some help before his wife has to bury him.
So for all of the blathering and blubbering about mental health that has occurred in numerous city and county board meetings, a firefighter that witnesses a horrific scene is left to fight his inner demons by himself? These people truly disgust me. This man is reaching for anything he can to silence the noise, including illegal drugs. Is anyone surprised, given the context? I’m not. This story is heartbreaking.
First responders and other civil servants who happen to witness a horrifying situation such as the one that this man saw should be offered assistance THE VERY NEXT DAY. He should have been taken off of active duty for at least 2 weeks minimum, and been given help with dealing with the grief.
This poor guy is on the verge of losing everything, all because he wanted to put out fires and help people. I hope he gets the help he needs.