Yakima officer shot, wounded

The search for the suspect in a drive-by shooting turned violent Thursday when gunfire broke out, wounding a corrections officer and setting off a 90-minute standoff punctuated by occasional gunshots fired from inside a home containing the suspect.

The state Department of Corrections officer, who was serving on a violent crimes task force, suffered a grazing wound. She was treated at a local hospital and was released later Thursday.

“In light of what we have been seeing around the country, this is a relief,” Yakima police spokesman Mike Bastinelli said.

The incident began about 1:15 p.m. when members of the Pacific Northwest Violent Offender Task Force approached a home at 1210 S. Ninth St. looking for a suspect wanted in a drive-by shooting earlier in the day.

The task force, composed of Yakima County sheriff’s deputies, Yakima police, state corrections officers and U.S. Marshalls, specializes in arresting those suspected of violent crimes. As they approached shots range out, authorities said.

As police, state troopers and sheriff’s deputies flooded into the area, three people in the house came out without incident and surrendered. However, one man remained in the house.

Police began closing off a two-block area south of West Nob Hill Boulevard, as a standoff with a 25-year-old suspect unfolded. During the roughly 1- 1/2 hour standoff, gunshots were fired from inside the house, authorities said.

Police did not return fire, but positioned a SWAT team, including snipers and an armored vehicle outside the house.

Around 3 p.m. the suspect came out of the house wearing a white shirt, tan shorts and a baseball hat. He slowly walked toward police while smoking a cigarette. Complying with orders from police, he put his arms out to the sides, turned around, lifted his shirt and put his hands behind his back before he was taken into custody.

Bastinelli said the suspect didn’t live at the house, but was visiting.