A Florida man and former football coach at several Jefferson County Public Schools was arrested in Louisville Saturday after allegedly shooting at police, according to court records.
Tombe Juma-Kose Thomas, 35, of Osteen, Florida, is charged with attempted murder of a police officer after reportedly firing a gunshot in the direction of two Louisville Metro Police officers. He is currently being held at the Louisville Metro Department of Corrections on a $250,000 bond and will make a court appearance Tuesday.
According to court records, Thomas was staying at an Airbnb in the 1100 block of Reutinlinger Avenue with his girlfriend in the Germantown neighborhood when he barricaded himself in the bathroom after believing his girlfriend brought an unknown person into the residence. Fourth Division officers from LMPD were dispatched to assist.
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When officers arrived, they reportedly knocked on the bathroom window and announced their presence, and Thomas fired a single gunshot through a window at or near the height of the officers’ heads shortly after, according to court records.
Thomas eventually exited the residence with the handgun and was taken into custody, telling police it was a “warning shot,” records show.
Defendant is former JCPS football coach
In a file photo from November 2019, then-Moore head football coach Tombe J. Thomas watches his team from the sidelines.
Thomas formerly worked as an assistant coach and head coach for the Marion C. Moore School’s high school football team, according to previous reporting from The Courier Journal.
Originally from South Sudan, Thomas moved to the U.S. with his family at age 9 and played two years of football at San Diego Mesa Community College before transferring to finish his collegiate career at Syracuse University as a fullback from 2010-11.
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When he came to Louisville, he spent two years at Eastern High School and one year at Ballard High School before taking a position at Moore.
A spokesperson for JCPS did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Contact reporter Killian Baarlaer at kbaarlaer@gannett.com or @bkillian72 on X.
This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Tombe Juma-Kose Thomas, former JCPS coach, arrested in Louisville
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