VANCOUVER, Wash — One man is dead after a Vancouver police officer shot and killed him early Thursday morning after an hours-long standoff where police say the suspect fired numerous rounds at swat officers and possibly surrounding homes.
Witnesses told KGW it was a chaotic scene that started around 11 p.m. Thursday and lasted well into the early morning hours. Police say a fight broke out between neighbors in a residential neighborhood off Northeast 71st Street in the Walnut Grove area, and it quickly escalated.
Witnesses told police one man fired a gun in the air and started slashing tires of parked cars. Alex took the day off work Friday to help his friend repair his tires.
“There was a lot happening last night…We didn't work today for that reason. Now, we have to fix these tires 'cause they were slashed with a knife,” Alex said.
Once deputies arrived Thursday night, the suspect threatened to shoot them. Police saw him arm himself with a high-powered rifle before the suspect fired several rounds heard throughout the neighborhood.
“1 o'clock and we heard bang, bang and we knew something was up,” said Barbie Proden, who lives a few doors down.
“I was thinking, 'Wow, we're lucky no bullets came this way,'” added Barbie’s husband, Carl.
It was around 1 a.m. when deputies tried to confront the suspect from inside an armored truck.
“As soon as we opened the back door, (we) hear the cops say, ‘Don't reach for that gun.’ We got nervous, so we closed the door,” said a woman who lives with her children close to the suspect’s home.
Police said that the suspect then shot at the armored vehicle, nearly shattering its windshield and forcing neighbors to shelter in place.
“Kind of shook us up, a little shocked, honestly,” said one neighbor.
More than an hour later around 2:30 a.m., a Vancouver police officer spotted the suspect inside a home, apparently wearing a ballistic helmet and gas mask, when the officer shot and killed him.
Police talked over the phone with two women inside the home. They were able to safely escape before the suspect was killed.
“I think they took charge, and the situation is under control. It's just amazing, though, how it got out of control at that time,” said Carl.
Two Vancouver police officers have been placed on paid administrative leave: the one who shot and killed the suspect and another who was inside the armored vehicle and next to the windshield when it was hit. No officers or neighbors were injured, according to police. The investigation is ongoing.