Police standoff ends in suspect’s suicide

A standoff between a 38-year-old South Kitsap man and Kitsap County Sheriff’s deputies ended last week with the man apparently shooting himself, Spokesman Deputy Scott Wilson said.

Wilson said the incident began shortly before 11 a.m. Sept. 20 when the man’s mother called 911 and said the resident of the 14100 block of Maple Road had a gun and was threatening her and his wife before the line went dead.

The two women were later contacted outside of the home, saying they did not want to be inside the house when officers arrived. The mother also told deputies that she did not believe her son would have shot them, but that he wanted them to leave the house.

At one point, she said her son yelled the “police will not take me alive,” and she described him as suicidal.

Wilson said the first law enforcement unit arrived at the house at 11:06 a.m., and shortly after a Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) team arrived and took command of the incident.

Officers attempted to communicate with the suspect via telephone, loud speaker, and other methods that were unsuccessful, Wilson said.

Eventually, officers deployed a robot controlled remotely and equipped with a video camera to look inside the house.

After breaking a window, Wilson said the robot was able to provide officers a view into the house that revealed the suspect was slumped in a chair, apparently deceased.

“He apparently died from self-inflicted gunshot wound, (and) he could have been dead the whole time they were trying to contact him,” Wilson said.

He said it was not clear what time the robot was deployed, but that the coroner was called to respond to the scene at about 5:40 p.m.

Wilson said law enforcement’s first priority in such instances is to “maintain a perimeter around him so he doesn’t move” and threaten the safety of others.

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