In brief: Bellingham man found dead after standoff
A 24-year-old Bellingham man was found dead in his home after a four-hour standoff that began when he brandished an object that police said turned out to be a toy gun.
David Duncan Clark was found dead about 9:30 p.m. Friday after police fired at him and then broke down the door to his home. His cause of death was not disclosed.
Lt. Steve Felmley said the incident began about 5:30 p.m. Friday after reports that Clark and three other individuals were acting disorderly.
The three others left without trouble, but police called in their SWAT team and blocked off streets when Clark displayed what appeared to be a gun from the front porch.
Felmley said police shot at Clark with immobilizing beanbags and bullets after he charged at officers. Clark then retreated into the house, and officers fired tear gas before breaking in and finding him dead.
Two officers who fired their weapons during the standoff were placed on leave pending an internal police review and a review by the Whatcom County prosecutor’s office.
TACOMA
University students killed in collision
Two Pacific Lutheran University students, one of them a member of the school’s football team, were killed Friday in a car accident near Brewster, in central Washington.
The victims were Jocelyn Denham and Brady Freeman, both 21. Freeman was a junior offensive lineman.
The Washington State Patrol said the accident occurred about 5:30 p.m. Friday when a northbound Pontiac Grand Am driven by Freeman apparently strayed into the southbound lane of Highway 97 south of Okanogan and collided with an oncoming Ford Expedition.
Freeman’s twin brother, Boone Freeman, a junior offensive lineman at the University of Puget Sound, was critically injured.
The Freeman brothers attended Tonasket High School. Denham was from Bend, Ore.
The driver of the Expedition suffered an ankle injury. The two passengers were not injured.
BOISE
BSU will honor astronaut-teacher
Idaho teacher and astronaut Barbara Morgan will receive an honorary doctorate from Boise State University next month.
Morgan, who flew on the space shuttle Endeavour in August, will become the sixth person to receive an honorary doctoral degree from BSU.
Morgan was an elementary school teacher before joining NASA’s Teacher in Space program.
ABBOTSFORD, B.C.
Dozens hurt when church floor falls
Dozens of people were injured when the floor of a church collapsed during a rock concert in the British Columbia community of Abbotsford, just across the border from Sumas, Wash.
About 1,000 people had gathered to watch a Christian rock band Friday night when people were sent falling several yards into the basement at Central Heights Church.
Seconds later, the large lighting and sound system toppled onto audience members as the wood beneath it gave way.
The health authority said more than 40 people were treated at hospitals. Two people were transported to hospitals in Vancouver, one with critical injuries.
Police said Saturday it was too early to say what caused the collapse. The church’s head pastor, Chris Douglas, said similar events have been held at the church without problems.