Standoff Ends Peacefully

A despondent Seattle man was detained Tuesday at the Microsoft Corp. campus after a parking-lot standoff that began with a suicide threat to an ex-girlfriend working inside.

No shots were fired and no one was hurt in the 4-1/2-hour standoff between police in this east Seattle suburb and the armed man in his car, police spokeswoman Kristi Wilson said from the scene.

Michael Gay, 45, was held for a 72-hour involuntary mental evaluation, Wilson said.

Wilson said police found “at least one small-caliber firearm in his vehicle.”

The man has no role at Microsoft, the world’s largest computer software maker, Wilson said. He apparently was despondent over a breakup with the ex-girlfriend, a vendor assigned to Microsoft headquarters, Wilson said.