Man jailed after alleged threats with realistic toy gun

EVERETT — A Snohomish man who reportedly “wanted to commit suicide by cop” was ordered held on $50,000 bail after a standoff Sunday that allegedly involved him threatening sheriff’s deputies with knives, improvised explosives and a toy gun that resembled an assault rifle.

Tyler Gaffney, 32, reportedly was involved in a domestic dispute with family, a melee that involved fists, wrestling and a thrown butcher knife. When a Snohomish County deputy was summoned just before 6 p.m., he allegedly came to the front door carrying a knife in each hand.

He told the deputy to leave and shouted “This is not going to end well!” according to police reports.

A short time later, he came to the door again, carrying some sort of device and told the deputy “I’m going to blow you all up!”

Deputies took up positions around the home and one began trying to talk Gaffney into surrendering. Instead, the man claimed to be a trained sniper and threatened to shoot the deputy twice in the chest and once in the head. The man could be seen displaying what appeared to be a firearm. He claimed it was an M-4, an assault rifle widely used by the U.S. military.

A short time later Gaffney reportedly tossed something out of the window. It was lit, but fizzled out.

As the standoff stretched on, other deputies, including members of the sheriff’s tactical team, converged on the scene.

Just before 7 p.m., Gaffney came out of the home carrying what appeared to be an M-4.

Deputies commanded him to drop the rifle. When he didn’t do so immediately they used “less lethal” impact ammunition to knock him down and took him into custody.

It turned out that Gaffney was carrying an Airsoft replica of an M-4, a realistic-appearing toy. Meanwhile, the explosive devices he claimed to have prepared for deputies were cobbled together from cigarette lighters fitted on aerosol cans.

After his arrest and being advised of his rights, Gaffney provided detectives an hour-long taped statement. He reportedly told them he had served in the U.S. Army for two years, starting in the late 1990s and “claimed he was a member of a super-secret Special Forces team,” police reports said. He also asserted that he served on secret combat missions and had been awarded medals for his bravery.

It was “readily apparent,” detectives reported, that Gaffney’s military claims were false, despite his posting a photo online of a display case festooned with patches, medals and other memorabilia. Others in the community had earlier reached a similar conclusion, particularly after Gaffney this summer attracted attention by self-publishing a book of poems he claimed were inspired by his military experiences.

The last entry on his Facebook page, posted Sunday afternoon, simply said “Good bye (sic).”

Detectives wrote that Gaffney clearly struggles with mental health issues.

“We asked him if he wanted to hurt himself and he said he was trying to commit suicide by cop,” they said in an affidavit filed Monday in Everett District Court.

At a brief hearing, Judge Roger Fisher found probable cause to jail Gaffney for investigation of two counts of second-degree assault, two counts of fourth-degree assault and possession of prohibited explosive devices.

Scott North: 425-339-3431, north@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

A firefighter stands in silence before a panel bearing the names of L. John Regelbrugge and Kris Regelbrugge during the ten-year remembrance of the Oso landslide on Friday, March 22, 2024, at the Oso Landslide Memorial in Oso, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Flood of emotions’ as Oso Landslide Memorial opens on 10th anniversary

Friends, family and first responders held a moment of silence at 10:37 a.m. at the new 2-acre memorial off Highway 530.

Julie Petersen poses for a photo with images of her sister Christina Jefferds and Jefferds’ grand daughter Sanoah Violet Huestis next to a memorial for Sanoah at her home on March 20, 2024 in Arlington, Washington. Peterson wears her sister’s favorite color and one of her bangles. (Annie Barker / The Herald)
‘It just all came down’: An oral history of the Oso mudslide

Ten years later, The Daily Herald spoke with dozens of people — first responders, family, survivors — touched by the deadliest slide in U.S. history.

Victims of the Oso mudslide on March 22, 2014. (Courtesy photos)
Remembering the 43 lives lost in the Oso mudslide

The slide wiped out a neighborhood along Highway 530 in 2014. “Even though you feel like you’re alone in your grief, you’re really not.”

Director Lucia Schmit, right, and Deputy Director Dara Salmon inside the Snohomish County Department of Emergency Management on Friday, March 8, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
How Oso slide changed local emergency response ‘on virtually every level’

“In a decade, we have just really, really advanced,” through hard-earned lessons applied to the pandemic, floods and opioids.

Ron and Gail Thompson at their home on Monday, March 4, 2024 in Oso, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
In shadow of scarred Oso hillside, mudslide’s wounds still feel fresh

Locals reflected on living with grief and finding meaning in the wake of a catastrophe “nothing like you can ever imagine” in 2014.

Everett mall renderings from Brixton Capital. (Photo provided by the City of Everett)
Topgolf at the Everett Mall? Mayor’s hint still unconfirmed

After Cassie Franklin’s annual address, rumors circled about what “top” entertainment tenant could be landing at Everett Mall.

Everett
Everett man sentenced to 3 years of probation for mutilating animals

In 2022, neighbors reported Blayne Perez, 35, was shooting and torturing wildlife in north Everett.

Dorothy Crossman rides up on her bike to turn in her ballot  on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Everett leaders plan to ask voters for property tax increase

City officials will spend weeks hammering out details of a ballot measure, as Everett faces a $12.6 million deficit.

Starbucks employee Zach Gabelein outside of the Mill Creek location where he works on Friday, Feb. 23, 2024 in Mill Creek, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Mill Creek Starbucks votes 21-1 to form union

“We obviously are kind of on the high of that win,” store bargaining delegate Zach Gabelein said.

Lynnwood police respond to a collision on highway 99 at 176 street SW. (Photo provided by Lynnwood Police)
Police: Teen in stolen car flees cops, causes crash in Lynnwood

The crash blocked traffic for over an hour at 176th Street SW. The boy, 16, was arrested on felony warrants.

The view of Mountain Loop Mine out the window of a second floor classroom at Fairmount Elementary on Wednesday, Jan. 10, 2024 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
County: Everett mining yard violated order to halt work next to school

At least 10 reports accused OMA Construction of violating a stop-work order next to Fairmount Elementary. A judge will hear the case.

Imagine Children's Museum's incoming CEO, Elizabeth "Elee" Wood. (Photo provided by Imagine Children's Museum)
Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett to welcome new CEO

Nancy Johnson, who has led Imagine Children’s Museum in Everett for 25 years, will retire in June.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.