12-hour Federal Way standoff ends with death of suspect

FEDERAL WAY, Wash. — A 12-hour standoff in Federal Way ended with a shootout and the death of a suspect.

Federal Way police say a 36-year-old man was with a woman when they got into a hit-and-run in the 28200 block of Military Road South shortly before noon Wednesday and then ran from the scene into a neighborhood east of the crash scene.

They then tried to steal a vehicle parked at a home in the 28100 block of 28th Avenue South.

When police arrived, the man got out of the vehicle and broke into the home, which was unoccupied at the time. The woman was taken into custody.

Police set up a perimeter and ordered the man to come out of the home, but he refused.

The homeowners told officers that there were weapons inside the house and that the man may have armed himself with one of their guns.  A SWAT team was called to the scene and negotiators tried to persuade the man to surrender.

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Officers tried to smoke him out with flash bangs and pepper spray. They also had his grandmother tell him to come out.

"We love him, he trusts us, I know he trusts us, you know. I just wish he'd come out," said the suspect's grandmother,  Miriam Foster.

One of the owners of the home where the suspect holed up said they had no sleep and felt terrible seeing their home blown apart.

"The guy is barricaded inside our house right now and now the SWAT team is here. There's cats in the house and we don't care about anything else, he can do whatever else he wants," said homeowner Julie Hawking.

After hours of trying to get the man to come out with no success, SWAT officers entered the home to try to find the man. After a slow and careful search, he was found in a small room in the basement.

Police said the man fired at the SWAT officers, who then returned gunfire.  The man was killed.

Federal Way police say said it is not known if the man died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound or by officer gunfire.

The homeowner said her insurance will cover most of the damage done to her home, but she's also praying for the suspect's family, knowing they had no control in what his activities were.

The suspect's family said he had a drug problem.

Cox Media Group