Police surround the Apple Tree Inn, block off part of Division in standoff with armed group

Guests at the Apple Tree Inn on Tuesday night heard police yelling to a group through a megaphone several times, “Get out with your hands up.”

The Spokane Police Department got intelligence Tuesday that suspect wanted on a possession of controlled substance warrant out of Idaho was holed up in the motel off North Division Street and was with a group of armed people, officials said.

By 8:40 p.m., police had detained one person. The rest, “have yet to be cooperative,” Sgt. Teresa Fuller said.

Police evacuated as many people from the motel as they could, Fuller said. Police blocked off several blocks of Division, making a buffer to protect from potential gunfire, Fuller said.

Firetrucks, police cars and medics gathered in a Rosauers parking lot in case of the worst.

Dozens of police cars were in the area as the department deployed the Patrol Anti-Crime Unit team, SWAT team, K-9 unit and hostage negotiators.

Fuller said she couldn’t say how long the standoff might last.

“It’s really dependent on them and the level of cooperation from the people in the room,” she said late Tuesday.

On Oct. 2, police arrested several members of a youth-based gang at the Apple Tree in connection to a fatal drive-by shooting of 15-year-old Norvell Amos. Fuller said she did not know if there was any connection between two incidents.

By 9:40 p.m., the standoff was ongoing, Fuller said.