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Officer shoots at man in confrontation near Sacred Heart; no injuries reported

Law enforcement personnel investigate the scene of a confrontation between Spokane Police and a man with a gun somewhere near Fifth Avenue and the area between Browne and Division streets early Wednesday. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)
Law enforcement personnel investigate the scene of a confrontation between Spokane Police and a man with a gun somewhere near Fifth Avenue and the area between Browne and Division streets early Wednesday. (Jesse Tinsley/The Spokesman-Review)Buy a print of this photo
By Quinn Welsch and Jonathan Brunt The Spokesman-Review

A Spokane police officer shot at a man accused of brandishing a firearm during a police chase near downtown Spokane before dawn on Wednesday .

Spokane police arrested Reily W. Arambul, 27, on suspicion of first-degree carjacking and second-degree unlawful possession of a firearm.

Police were called to a parking lot in the 300 block of West Fifth Avenue about 4 a.m. after receiving a report of someone with a weapon, according to the Spokane Police Department. Officers located Arambul, who ran eastbound on Fifth Avenue and got into the passenger side of a truck that was facing eastbound, the release said.

Police observed a struggle between the suspect and the driver of the truck. The truck began moving eastbound on Fifth, but police were able to stop it within about three blocks, Assistant Police Chief Justin Lundgren said during a news conference.

“They were able to pin the vehicle and get it to stop,” police said .

The truck was still pinned between two police vehicles at 10 a.m. in the middle of Fifth Avenue before Browne Street, near Inland Northwest Behavioral Health.

The suspect had run southbound from the truck as an officer chased him, police said.

“At about Sixth Avenue and Browne, the suspect stopped, faced the officer, and at some point the officer fired one round at the suspect, who then surrendered without further incident,” police said in the release.

Lundgren said the man had a gun and officers found “what appeared to be a firearm” near where the suspect surrendered.

Spokane police declined to confirm whether it was a firearm.

No one was shot in the incident. Lundgren said the driver of the truck is cooperating with the investigation.

“Nobody, fortunately, was hurt in this incident, but it goes to show the dangers our officers are facing with increased frequency,” Lundgren said. “People are armed and people are not complying with basic directions.”

The Spokane County Sheriff’s Office and Washington State Patrol are investigating .

Browne Street was taped off between Fifth and Sixth avenues through about 10:30 a.m. as police gathered evidence near an apartment building at 44 W. Sixth Ave.

Police asked homeowners and businesses in the area that may have surveillance footage of the incident or who witnessed it to call Crime Check at (509) 456-2233 if they haven’t talked to law enforcement.