SPOKANE, Wash. — Spokane police shot and killed a man following a suspicious house fire in West Central Spokane. The investigation into the fire and shooting continues while the homeowner starts cleaning up the damage left behind.
Police say they along with Spokane Fire were called to a house fire on 1800 West Dean just before 10 p.m. on Sunday night. When they arrived, they removed multiple people from the burning home. Police say that after speaking with the occupants, they learned that the incident was possible arson and the person of interest in the event was not there.
Officers continued interviewing subjects when they said one was not cooperative and started walking away. Officers attempted to detain the man when officers say he shot a gun that he was carrying. Officers returned fire hitting the man.
Life saving measures were began after the man was disarmed. Medical personnel who were on scene assisted in giving life saving measures, but the suspect died at the scene. No officers, firefighters or civilians were injured during the shooting.
The fire department said the fire started in an upstairs bedroom of the two-story home, the area that sustained the most damage.
In the daylight, homeowner Susan Crouch can't believe what's happened to her home of 22 years.
"Just devastating," Crouch said. "Look how it looks now. It's like night and day. Totally different. It's like being bombed."
Firefighters on scene didn't expect the chaos of the fire would escalate to violence outside. Spokane Fire Public Information Officer Justin de Ruyter said firefighters are trained to keep their head on a swivel. He added dispatch alerts crews to anything unusual.
"Things change really quick," de Ruyter explained. "There's a danger to this job. And we all know that and accept that. But these are just some added dangers that we haven't really had to deal with much in the past, not to this level."
As is police protocol, the officers involved will be placed on administrative leave. Officers were equipped with body cameras at the time of the incident.
The Spokane Independent Investigative Response team (SIIR) will conduct the investigation. The SIIR team is comprised of multiple agencies in Eastern Washington including the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, Washington State Patrol and the Spokane Police Department.
MORE ON SPOKANE POLICE: Spokane Police resources still stretched thin as nine officers return to work
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