Man accused of assaulting relative shot by officers during Colville standoff

Three law enforcement officers shot and injured a 56-year-old man during an hourslong standoff where the man pointed a gun at police 6 miles south of Colville early Thursday, according to the Stevens County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies were dispatched at 9:15 p.m. Tuesday to a disturbance in the 600 block of Old Arden Highway, the sheriff’s office said in a news release. They determined Anthony Sparacino severely assaulted a relative at the residence and should be arrested. The relative, a man, was taken to Providence Mount Carmel Hospital in Colville for his injuries.

The release said Sparacino refused to come to the door when ordered by deputies. He was alone in the residence with multiple firearms inside. Deputies, including a crisis negotiator, continued to try to make contact with the suspect, the sheriff’s office said.

The Stevens County Special Response Team was called about 10:30 p.m. and “fully assembled” at the scene around midnight, according to the release. Colville police and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife responded as backup and with drones. Officers from Kettle Falls and Chewelah police, as well as Washington State Patrol troopers, also responded.

Authorities eventually were able to communicate with Sparacino, who was still inside the residence, and tried to get him to surrender. From midnight until about 2:30 a.m., law enforcement used multiple “less than lethal” methods to try to take him into custody, including tear gas and pepper balls, the sheriff’s office said. Sparacino indicated he would kill himself or shoot officers, the release stated.

Sparacino pointed a firearm at law enforcement at about 2:30 a.m. and three officers fired, striking Sparacino, according to the release. Officers went into the home where Sparacino continued to fight officers.

They arrested Sparacino and gave him medical aid for his gunshot wounds. He was taken to Mount Carmel and then flown to Providence Sacred Heart Medical Center in Spokane. Sparacino was in stable condition Thursday afternoon, the sheriff’s office said, but specific details of his conditions weren’t clear.

The three officers who fired their guns, identified by Washington State Patrol as a Kettle Falls police officer and Stevens County sheriff’s deputies, were placed on administrative leave pending the “initial investigation,” which is normal for police shootings, according to the sheriff’s office.

Washington State Patrol is investigating the shooting.