Spokane Valley man accused of making threats, firing gun into bedroom floor

Sheriff’s deputies called in the SWAT team Friday night after a man allegedly made death threats and fired a handgun into the floor of a bedroom in Spokane Valley.

Gregory W. Henning, 48, was arrested after the incident and charged with one count of first-degree assault and three counts of felony harassment, the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.

Deputies initially responded just before 10 p.m. following reports of shots fired in the 2900 block of North Joel Road. About 15 minutes later, three people in a car flagged down another deputy, who had not been responding to the call, near the intersection of Sprague Avenue and Sargent Road near the Dishman Hills Natural Area.

Two of those people – Henning’s stepson and the stepson’s girlfriend – reported they had been at the house on Joel Road when Henning became angry over marital problems and fired the gun several times into the floor near the stepson’s feet, the sheriff’s office said. Henning also allegedly threatened to kill the couple as well as his wife, who was not home at the time.

Henning then had both victims walk onto the patio and ordered them to fire the gun, which they did several times, the sheriff’s office said. The couple fled when Henning went to put the gun away, the sheriff’s office said.

While the couple flagged down the deputy near Dishman Hills, other deputies were establishing a perimeter around the house and broadcasting orders for Henning to step outside, the sheriff’s office said. He exited at about 11 p.m. and was arrested without a struggle, the sheriff’s office said.

The SWAT team, which had been on its way to the house, was called off. Detectives later obtained a search warrant, the sheriff’s office said.