SPOKANE, Wash. — The Spokane County Sheriff's Office (SCSO) is sharing new details about the events leading up to a tense standoff and shootout in Moran Prairie on Thursday night.
Investigators said the incident involved a man with declining mental health who threatened to kill his mother, before eventually firing at deputies. The man, whose name has not been released, has now been taken into police custody and taken to the hospital for treatment.
South Glenrose Road remains closed as of 6:30 a.m. on Friday as deputies continue their investigation.
Moran Prarie Elementary School will be open at its normal time on Friday.
Deputies report this all started late on the night of Wednesday, April 12 when they were called by mental health professionals. SCSO said the man had been involved in an argument with his mother, where he threatened to “blow her head off." Deputies were told the man was known to have a handgun and was in declining mental health.
Deputies went to the house but say the man did not believe they were law enforcement. When one deputy used a flashlight to show his uniform, they say the man pulled out a pistol and pointed it at them.
"With the victim at a safe location, no one else inside the house, and no indication the suspect had any intent to leave the home and harm anyone else, the decision was made to leave the suspect inside his home to de-escalate the situation and not force a potentially deadly encounter," SCSO said in a news release.
Detectives obtained an arrest warrant for two counts of second-degree assault, with probable cause to add second-degree robbery. A judge also granted a search warrant for the house.
The Sheriff's Office assigned a surveillance team to the house. On Thursday night, the man left the house and drove to a nearby Safeway.
Deputies say the man "caused a disturbance" at the store and "threatened to harm other victims."
SCSO made the decision to try and stop the man before he could return home. The Sheriff's Office reports at 6:15 p.m. investigators called for emergency backup and shortly afterward shots were fired between the man and deputies.
During the gunfire, the man managed to make it back inside his house.
As deputies surrounded the house, the SCSO sent out an emergency alert asking people nearby to shelter in place. They also had to block a large stretch of 57th and Glenrose, as members of the SWAT team tried to get the man to surrender.
Forty-plus law enforcement vehicles were stationed around the man's home. with a helicopter flying overhead.
After several hours, SWAT members went into the house and made contact with the man. Deputies used "chemical irritants" which caused the man to leave the house. Deputies said the man remained uncooperative and a Taser was used to take him into custody.
The man was then taken to the hospital to be treated for wounds that SCSO said they believed were not life-threatening.
As is protocol in situations where law enforcement fires their guns, an independent investigative team (SIIR) has taken over the investigation.
This is a developing news story and we will provide more updates as we receive them.
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