Police shoot man in northwest Spokane after he fired from backyard

Update: Police said the man shot Wednesday night was in critical condition at a local hospital as of 1:45 a.m. Thursday. A man believed to be suicidal was shot once by police after the man fired shots from a yard in northwest Spokane late Wednesday, Spokane police Chief Frank Straub said. Officers were called to a home at 5527 N. Ash St. about 9:50 p.m. Residents in the home were concerned a man in the backyard of the home was suicidal, intoxicated and had a gun. Officers arrived four minutes later and approached the home through the alley, and numerous shots were fired, presumably by the man, Straub said. Straub said officers heard the man tell them to “just do it” or something similar to that. Officers heard what sounded like the man reloading and an officer fired one shot. The man was struck and police rendered aid, Straub said. He was taken to a hospital and his condition was unclear late Wednesday. Straub said two people besides the man were at the home, including the man’s girlfriend. One officer on scene was wearing a body camera, but footage and audio has not yet been processed, Straub said. Michael Mears, who lives nearby, said he heard a “barrage of gunfire.” Soon after the gunfire, a woman who said she was the man’s girlfriend ran from the home, Mears said. He said he heard her tell officers that she took as much ammunition from the home as possible. Not long after she left the home, Mears heard a single shot.