LONGVIEW — A Longview man remained in critical condition at PeaceHealth Southwest Medical Center on Wednesday afternoon after shooting himself in the head while law enforcement was trying to contact him for a criminal investigation in West Longview earlier in the day.
Interim Longview Police Chief Robert Huhta said officers went to Mountain View Apartments Wednesday morning to search for Daryl Lee McKinney, who was wanted on suspicion of a felony assault.
Officers had conducted some initial surveillance on his apartment, but when they contacted McKinney, he fled into a storage unit, barricaded himself inside and would not communicate with officers, Huhta said. McKinney was armed at the time, police said.
The apartment complex is in the 2100 block of 38th Avenue.
At some point, while officers were trying to communicate with McKinney, they heard what sounded like a muffled gunshot, Huhta said.
Additional law enforcement then arrived and tried to negotiate with McKinney, but could not get in contact with him by phone or verbally. Huhta said McKinney finally called negotiators back, and though he was unable to speak, he was able to cough when a negotiator asked him to do so.
The SWAT team decided to breach the storage unit and found McKinney inside with an injury to his face, Huhta said. McKinney was taken to St. John Medical Center around 11:40 a.m. after some treatment at the scene, according to Huhta.
The scene was secure by that point, Huhta said, and residents were allowed back into their homes.
Huhta said McKinney suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. McKinney was first taken to St. John Medical Center and later sent to PeaceHealth Southwest Washington Medical Center in Vancouver.
As of Wednesday afternoon, he remained in critical condition at that hospital, according to PeaceHealth spokesman Randy Querin.
According to Huhta, detectives searched McKinney’s apartment for evidence around 11:30 a.m. There was no one else found in his apartment or in the storage unit, but the Cowlitz County Humane Society was called to the scene for McKinney’s dog.
McKinney was being sought on suspicion of second- and third-degree assault of a child, stalking, computer trespass and unlawful firearm possession. The investigation stemmed from a report police received from Oregon Child Protective Services, Huhta said.
