Police: Man threatening to shoot people outside haunted house causes standoff

SEATTLE — A man threatening to shoot people outside a popular haunted house in South Seattle Wednesday night sparked a standoff that caused customers to be unable to get to their cars for hours, according to police.

KIRO 7 video shows the SWAT team moving in the area.   Watch the video in the window below this story.

Staff at the Georgetown Morgue Haunted House on East Marginal Way called police at 10:50 p.m. after people waiting in line said they heard a man shouting threats.

Authorities said the man was in a parking lot just to the north of the haunted house. Arriving officers saw the man run behind a nearby box truck where they lost sight of him.

Police believed the man was hiding inside the truck and surrounded it.  A standoff began and a SWAT team was called in.

As many as 200 people attending the haunted house parked in the same lot and were unable to get to their cars for hours.

"After hours of failed negotiations, police no longer believe the suspect is inside the vehicle," Seattle police said on a blotter post Thursday morning.

Police escorted the last few customers back to their cars around 1:30 a.m.

Police said they will remain in the area and continue to search for the suspect. Anyone with information about the case is asked to call Seattle police.

The haunted house is one of the most popular in the region, with hundreds of people attending each night.

VIDEO: Swat team moves in on suspect outside haunted house

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