Spokane County Sheriff's deputies shoot, kill suspect in SWAT standoff near Loon Lake

Garrett Cabeza, The Spokesman-Review, Spokane, Wash.
Updated ·3 min read
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Oct. 13—A man is dead after two Spokane County Sheriff's Office deputies fired "multiple shots" at him during a SWAT standoff Wednesday night near Loon Lake, Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich said at a news conference shortly after 1 a.m. Thursday.

The sheriff's office responded to a report around 3:15 p.m. Wednesday about a shooting in the 42800 block of North Spotted Road, near the northern boundary with Stevens County, in which the person who was later killed by deputies allegedly pointed a gun at another person's head and threatened to kill him.

The victim said the suspect fired the gun but he was not hit, the sheriff's office said in a news release. Deputies recovered a casing and bullet from the scene.

The suspect, whose identity has not been released, was said to have fled to a home on the 4000 block of U.S. Highway 395 in the Loon Lake area in Stevens County. Knezovich said deputies developed probable cause to arrest the suspect for suspicion of first-degree assault and harassment.

The Stevens County Sheriff's Office requested assistance from the Spokane County Sheriff's Office SWAT team at about 6 p.m. to help take the suspect into custody, the Spokane County Sheriff's Office said. The SWAT team as well as the Spokane Police Department responded . Crisis negotiators, the Spokane Regional Air Support Unit and Rescue Task Force also were called to the scene.

The Stevens County Sheriff's Office posted on its Facebook page Wednesday night that there was law enforcement action in the area of the 4000 block of U.S. 395 near Loon Lake. The post stated there was a potentially armed and dangerous person in the area and urged nearby residents to stay inside and lock their doors.

Stevens County Sheriff's Office personnel notified the SWAT team that the suspect fled from a residence and went into the woods, Knezovich said. Knezovich said the suspect yelled that he was going to shoot law enforcement officers.

Authorities cordoned off the area and located the suspect with a drone, the sheriff's office said. Authorities asked him, via a public address system, to surrender.

"We tried to de-escalate the situation," Knezovich said. "The individual continued to yell threats, and at one point during the contact, multiple shots were heard coming from the area where the suspect was. We're not quite sure what he was shooting at."

The drone operator told the SWAT team that the suspect, who was wearing body armor, was heading toward the team at about 10:15 p.m., the sheriff's office said. About that time, two Spokane County Sheriff's Office deputies fired shots, killing the suspect.

Medical aid was provided, but the suspect was pronounced dead at the scene, the sheriff's office said.

Knezovich said he is unsure how many shots were fired but that "multiple shots" were fired by the suspect and the SWAT team.

Knezovich said the names of the deputies will be released in about three days. The suspect's name will be released after family has been contacted.

The Spokane Independent Investigative Response Team is investigating the fatal shooting and the Spokane Police Department is the managing agency, according to Spokane County Sheriff's Cpl. Mark Gregory.

Spokane law enforcement officers have shot six people this year.

This story is developing and will be updated.