Seattle police shoot, kill armed man following Capitol Hill standoff
Jul 5, 2013, 9:37 AM | Updated: 7:53 pm
Seattle police shot and killed an armed man who barricaded himself in a Capitol Hill apartment early Friday morning.
The standoff began after neighbors saw the man carrying a handgun around 3 a.m., then heard shots from his fifth floor apartment in the 100 block of Bellevue Ave. East.
Police say the 28-year-old man had several previous contacts with officers and members of the department’s Crisis Intervention Team, which works with people suffering from mental health crises.
Police evacuated the building and cordoned off the area after hearing the man watching what appeared to be a gun maintenance training video on his TV. Police say officers believed they heard the sound of the man racking and dry-firing a gun.
SWAT team and negotiators tried to end the standoff peacefully, but the man came to his balcony and threatened officers. Police say the man repeatedly told officers he was prepared to defend himself against “zombies” and refused to surrender his gun.
The man shot at officers through an apartment window onto Denny Way around 10:30am, according to police. Two officers returned fire, striking the man.
Negotiators could hear the man inside, but because he had blocked his door with furniture and had mentioned booby trapping his apartment, police say they “planned a careful tactical entry” into the apartment.
Officers reached the man inside just before 11:00am and requested medics, but he died of his injuries.
Two officers who fired at the man have been put on paid administrative leave, which is department policy in officer-involved shootings.
The Seattle Police Department’s Homicide Unit is investigating the incident.
