KENT, Wash. — A man connected to a stand-off near Meridian Elementary School in Kent was arrested Wednesday as the district canceled classes at the school for the second day in a row.
Kent police say they got a call at about 5:25 a.m. Monday about a man who was making threatening statements while holding a gun.
Officers responded to a residence in the 25800 block of 140th Avenue Southeast and spoke to someone who witnessed the reported incident and expressed that the suspect was possibly in a state of crisis.
Police attempted to speak to the suspect, but were unsuccessful. The suspect’s family members left the house, leaving the suspect alone inside the residence.
The stand-off that followed at the house located immediately behind the elementary school ended with a family member re-entering the home and taking a rifle from the suspect.
That rifle was taken into police custody, but officers were advised there was insufficient probable cause for them to enter the home for an arrest, according to Kent police.
In the days since, parents say the man has driven through that Kent neighborhood at all hours of the day, acting erratically.
“I think people are very afraid, and especially parents like myself, we’re very worried about our kids going there, especially knowing that he’s out literally patrolling the street,” said a parent in the neighborhood.
School district officials canceled classes for two days as a precaution.
Coupled with the teachers’ strike earlier this year, some parents are saying that their kids are missing too much school.
Kent police told KIRO 7 they were in the process of trying to obtain an arrest warrant in this case early Wednesday, but added that the legal process has been slow, saying in part: “Unfortunately, this is yet another example of how the community’s expectations in terms of what the police should do to keep them safe, do not align with state law and court decisions.”
The suspect was arrested several hours later, at about 4:10 p.m
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