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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Man Surrenders After 6-1/2-Hour Standoff Everett Resident Had Fired Shot From Handgun During Marital Dispute

Associated Press

Police here spent most of Memorial Day trying to talk an armed man into leaving his home.

They succeeded at about 3:22 p.m., when “he came out the door, following instructions,” police spokesman Elliott Woodall said.

The name of the man taken into custody was not immediately released. The man - a Navy man based at Naval Station Everett - likely will face a charge of first-degree assault in the 6-1/2-hour standoff, Woodall said.

The incident followed a marital dispute at the house Sunday night, the police spokesman said.

“He left the duplex last night and came back this morning. Then it got physical - he fired a shot out of a handgun. It didn’t hit anybody,” Woodall said.

Police were called to the scene shortly before 9 a.m., he said. The area was cordoned off and nearby homes evacuated. About 30 officers were there over the course of the standoff, Woodall said.

Police negotiators began talking with the man a little after 9, Woodall said. No further shots were fired, he said.

The man’s wife fled the house after the shot was fired, escaping out a second-floor window. She was treated at a local hospital for injuries to her foot and released, and then returned to the scene, Woodall said. Negotiators spoke with her, but she did not take part in the negotiations, he said.

With the wife out of the home and no hostages, authorities took “the safe route, doing the negotiating process,” Woodall said.

“There’s no indication he is involved with alcohol or any other intoxicating substances, so we have been able to have a good conversation with him … rational conversation,” he said shortly before the man surrendered.