Man shot to death in standoff, child rescued

Published 9:00 pm Thursday, March 25, 2004

MARYSVILLE, Wash. – A man was shot to death after a standoff, and a 1-year-old boy who was being held hostage was freed without significant injury, police said.

Police were summoned when a woman reported her boyfriend, 27, of Tacoma, was forcing his way into her apartment late Thursday night, Cmdr. Robb Lamoureux told KIRO Television of Seattle.

A Snohomish County emergency response team was summoned and found the man holed up in the apartment with the little boy. About two hours later, after the man threatened to kill the child, police swarmed inside and the man was shot to death, police said.

The little boy, unharmed except for “some very minor surface scratches,” was returned to his mother, Lamoureux said.

Police had been called to the apartment in the past to investigate reports of domestic violence, he said.