Police say Stiffarm shot at them at least 41 times

Police now believe that Jeremy D. Stiffarm fired at police at least 41 times during a standoff Wednesday that ended with Stiffarm’s apparent suicide.

Police were called to a duplex at 1320 N. Stout at 7:17 a.m. Wednesday by a woman who said her ex-boyfriend was suicidal and had a gun. When police arrived they were shot at from a basement window, touching off the standoff that ended at 1:40 p.m. when a robot equipped with a camera spotted Stiffarm lying on the floor, dead.

An autopsy conducted Thursday revealed that Stiffarm, 29, died of a single self-inflicted gunshot wound, said Spokane Valley Police spokesman Cpl. Dave Reagan.

Investigators found evidence in the duplex to indicate Stiffarm fired 41 rounds from his scoped, .22-caliber semiautomatic rifle, Reagan said. It is the type of gun that ejects shell casings as the weapon is fired.

“The number that he fired may never be exact,” Reagan said. “They found all that they could, but there may be more. Those tend to bounce all over the place.”

Metal detectors used to find casings from police weapons found 44 casings outside. A more exact number of shots police fired will be known as the investigation continues and the officers’ weapons are examined, Reagan said.

Shots were exchanged between Stiffarm and police at least four times, Reagan said. No one was hit by the gunfire.

Investigators also found 83 rounds of ammunition in various locations in the home plus eight rounds in Stiffarm’s rifle itself, Reagan said.