Officers shoot Valley man
Police respond to report of apparently suicidal gunman
Police shot a Spokane Valley man they described as suicidal after he confronted two officers outside his home Friday.
The 27-year-old man was hospitalized in serious condition Friday night, said Officer Jennifer DeRuwe, Spokane police spokeswoman. Authorities would not say how many times the man was shot. Both Spokane Valley police officers fired their weapons.
A visibly shaken neighbor awakened by the gunfire said some of the shots came through a side wall of his house.
“It missed my wife and 4-year-old grandson by 18 inches,” Robin Ross said.
The incident began about 12:40 p.m. when officers responded to a report of a suicidal man with a gun at 4727 E. Third Ave., officials said.
Authorities have not said if the man’s gun was found.
Ross said he heard five gunshots. Witnesses said one officer was armed with a shotgun, the other with a handgun.
Authorities have not yet named the officers, who were taken from the scene. The Spokane Police Department is investigating.
Neither officer was hurt, DeRuwe said.
Neither Ross nor his daughter, Nikki Ross, who also lives next door, knew their neighbor’s name, but they said he is a quiet person who kept to himself.