Lake Stevens SWAT standoff ends in deadly gunfire

LAKE STEVENS — A 29-year-old man died early Saturday after an eight-hour standoff with police ended in gunfire.

The man brandished a firearm throughout the incident and was despondent, said Edmonds police Sgt. Josh McClure, a spokesman for the Snohomish County Multiple Agency Response Team.

He was shot at about 7:20 a.m. when it appeared he was going to surrender and picked up the weapon again instead, McClure said.

The arrest team was moving towards the man and he “made a movement to the gun that he had set down and two SWAT team members fired at him,” McClure said.

The officers are members of the Region 1 SWAT team — an Everett police officer and a Snohomish County sheriff’s deputy.

Aid crews already were at the scene during the standoff, and the man was rushed to an Everett hospital but he died from his wounds.

SMART detectives were gathering evidence and talking with witnesses on Saturday.

“This was an eight hour ordeal. There was a lot going on over the course of eight hours,” McClure said.

The incident unfolded outside a home in the 5700 block of 123rd Avenue NE in the Getchell neighborhood. The home is on a straight stretch of rural roadway.

Deputies converged on the area after a 911 call reporting a suicidal man and shots fired.

The man climbed into the back of a pickup truck when deputies arrived.

He had a firearm and in the hours that followed frequently pointed it at his head, McClure said.

The SWAT team was summoned. Negotiators spent roughly six hours trying to convince the man to put down the weapon, McClure said.

At one point they had him talk with a family member. They also used less-than-lethal options, including wetting him down with a firehose and using impact and pepper rounds, McClure said.

Both officers involved in the shooting were placed on administrative leave, as is standard practice. The Everett officer has three years with the department. The deputy is a nine-year veteran.

SMART is a cadre of detectives from departments countywide who investigate incidents involving police use of force, including officer-involved shootings.

Noah Haglund: 425-339-3465; nhaglund@heraldnet.com. Twitter: @NWhaglund.