A suspect is dead following an hours long standoff at a home in Kent, Washington, on Wednesday afternoon. According to FOX 13 Seattle, neighbors said the situation unfolded at a house near Meridian Elementary, off 253rd Place and 139th Place Southeast. The quiet neighborhood became the scene of a large police response as the afternoon wore on.
It was around 3 p.m. when a slew of officers rolled in on the home, including a sniper. The heavy police presence signaled the seriousness of the situation, as law enforcement moved to surround the house and set up a perimeter around the property while the standoff got underway.
Officials said the person inside was a 20 year old man who was wanted in connection with two shootings. One of those shootings had happened just the day before at the Tacoma Walmart. He was also wanted in connection with an armed robbery, and had barricaded himself inside the home rather than surrender to the officers outside.
Complicating the situation, the man was not alone in the house. He had barricaded himself inside along with two family members. Negotiators were brought in and tried to get the suspect to give himself up and surrender peacefully, working to bring the standoff to a nonviolent end.
At one point, negotiators say the man opened the door of the home and let the two family members go. However, after releasing them, he turned around and ran back inside the house, once again barricading himself in and prolonging the confrontation with the officers surrounding the property.
Negotiators made repeated attempts to contact the man and talk him out of the home. During those efforts, at one point they heard a gunshot come from inside the house. The sound of the gunshot marked a turning point in the hours long standoff between the suspect and law enforcement.
After the gunshot was heard, SWAT teams obtained a warrant and then breached the home to reach the man inside. The suspect was found dead, bringing the hours long standoff in Kent to an end. Authorities have said the man was connected to the earlier shootings and armed robbery that had made him a wanted suspect.