Gee & Ursula: Law enforcement did ‘amazing job’ in Snohomish standoff

A 32-year-old Woodinville man is in jail Tuesday after barricading himself inside the Snohomish County courthouse on Monday carrying multiple guns. The incident ended peacefully without injuries.

“I want to say that I’m so glad that no one was hurt,” Gee Scott said on The Gee and Ursula Show. “Thank you, law enforcement, for doing an amazing job and making sure that everyone was safe.”

“The police handled this beautifully. But as someone who actually worked in that courthouse for years, I know there’s a lot of security,” Ursula commented. “What the heck is this person thinking that he’s going to walk into a place where there is security? The sheriff’s office is right there, the courthouse.

“We still don’t know what the motive is,” she continued, “But there’s just something wacky going on right now that there are too many people who are not okay in the head.”

According to the Snohomish County Sheriff’s office, the man entered the lobby carrying at least two guns around 12:30 p.m., causing the courthouse and the rest of the county campus to be shut down.

Standoff with armed gunman ends peacefully at Snohomish Co. govt. complex in Everett

A Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office report says that the 32-year-old Woodinville man was armed with two 7.62×39 rifles with loaded magazines, a 9mm Glock, a Smith and Wesson .45-caliber pistol, a .44 Magnum revolver, a Kel-Tec .32-caliber handgun and over 300 rounds of ammunition. He also had at least six knives, a hatchet, a pair of brass knuckles, and journals with “rambling handwritten notations.”

The Everett Herald reports that the man wanted “two judges and the sheriff” to change arrangements for custody of his child.

Tuesday, “the buildings are going to be open as usual. And I really want to take this time to really point out, ‘This is where law enforcement earns your money, baby,'” Gee said.

“This is when you basically have somebody with guns in this courthouse, and you made sure everybody was safe. This ain’t no movie. This is real life, and I appreciate that when that happens.”

The suspect will go before a judge this afternoon. The man is facing charges of intimidating a judge and unlawful firearm possession, as well as possible charges of resisting arrest, carrying a concealed pistol without a license, disorderly conduct, and having weapons in a place where they are prohibited.

Listen to Gee Scott and Ursula Reutin weekday mornings from 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. on KIRO Newsradio, 97.3 FM. Subscribe to the podcast here.