VANCOUVER, Wash. — A man who held a pellet gun to his head inside the Clark County Jail and then left on an e-bike prompted a several-hour shelter-in-place for residents Wednesday night in a Vancouver neighborhood.
Between the hours of 8 p.m. on Wednesday and 1 a.m. on Thursday, residents in a half mile radius of Northeast 26th Court near the jail were asked to stay inside while law enforcement searched the area.
According to Clark County Sheriff's Office, the man snuck in behind a deputy entering the jail in his patrol car. The deputy had been outside the jail completing pre-booking paperwork for an unrelated person in custody in his vehicle.
While the deputy was typing on the computer in his patrol car, the man walked up and began yelling, CCSO said. As the patrol car entered the jail, the man followed before the roll-up door closed.
The man then held a pellet gun to his head. Following, a brief standoff with the deputy who attempted to negotiate, the man exited the jail and got on the electric bike — still pointing the gun to his head, CCSO said.
“Due to the size and mobility of the electric bicycle,” CCSO said the man broke law enforcements containment multiple times throughout the downtown area, never removing the gun from his head.
An arrest team attempted to stop the man using a “40mm less than lethal projectile.” After which, the man entered the Burnt Bridge Creek Trail system and drone were needed to find him.
A SWAT team was called in to search for the trail. They eventually found him and the man was placed into custody after more negotiations. The weapon was then recovered and discovered to be a pellet gun, CCSO said.