A 36-year-old man was shot by a Kitsap County SWAT team after a nearly four-hour standoff with Bremerton police early Saturday morning.
The Bremerton Police Department said officers were called to a residence in the 1700 block of Shorewood Drive in West Bremerton at 4:48 a.m. Saturday after receiving a report of a felony domestic assault that happened around midnight at the home.
Authorities said the man, who was not immediately identified, was shot after he had pointed a handgun at members of the SWAT team who had surrounded his home.
Other people in the home, including the assault victim and children, had escaped from the home after the alleged assault.
Officers tried to make contact with the man just before 5 a.m.
Police said he came out of the home carrying a handgun, but then went back inside.
He refused to talk to police on the phone and would not come out of the house, which is located at the north end of Shorewood Drive, a dead-end road, near the water.
Bremerton police said a search warrant was obtained for the man’s arrest, and the Kitsap County SWAT team was sent to the scene to carry out the warrant.
Police surrounded home — and a police patrol boat was stationed in the water directly east of the house — and authorities said they tried to talk to the man over the phone and by a loudspeaker.
Authorities said the man refused to come out, and about 7:50 a.m., the man allegedly put his arm out a window of the home and pointed a handgun at officers in the police boat nearby.
Members of the SWAT team surrounding the home then fired and “apparently struck the suspect,” according to a news release issued Saturday by the Bremerton Police Department.
Officers tried again to talk the man into coming out, and at 8:25 a.m. police entered the home and found the man wounded, with injuries to his wrist and hip.
Police said they could not tell if the man fired upon officers; a handgun was later recovered from the home.
The man was taken by ambulance to St. Joseph’s Medical Center in Tacoma.
The police shooting will be investigated by the Kitsap Critical Incident Response Team, a team made up of detectives from law enforcement agencies in the area, which includes the Washington State Patrol.
The Kitsap Critical Incident Response Team, an investigative team made up of detectives from area law enforcement agencies including the Washington State Patrol, are conducting a comprehensive investigation of the incident.
“We appreciate the assistance of our partner agencies, and we appreciate the patience and understanding of the neighborhood in a difficult situation like this one,” said Bremerton Police Chief Steve Strachan.
“Officers and deputies worked diligently to end this situation peacefully, but we have to remember that outcomes are driven by the decisions and choices of the suspect involved,” Strachan said.
