Vancouver police officer fatally shoots man after standoff in Walnut Grove area

A Vancouver police officer fatally shot a man about 2:30 this morning after an hourslong standoff in the Walnut Grove neighborhood.

Throughout the incident, the suspect was actively shooting at police with a high-powered rifle, according to a statement from the Vancouver Police Department. One of the shots hit a SWAT armored vehicle, nearly shattering the front windshield.

According to the Clark County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were called about 11 p.m. to the 5400 Block of Northeast 71st Street, a neighborhood of single-family homes and duplexes.

Residents called 911 to report a man was threatening to harm neighbors. The callers said the man was being aggressive and possibly had a gun.

Prior to deputies responding, callers said the man slashed tires on vehicles and then said they had seen the man was armed with a handgun, according to a news release from the Clark County Sheriff’s Office.

Deputies and a drone operator responded and were able to see the man was armed and moving around his property. Deputies pulled back and contacted the man by phone. According to the sheriff’s office, the man made threats to shoot at deputies.

About 12:45 a.m., the man came back out to his driveway and fired at least one round into the air. Deputies confirmed by phone that two women had been in the house, but they were able to escape. Deputies then heard more shots fired.

The drone operator saw the man was now armed with a rifle, which he fired. Authorities made loudspeaker announcements to the neighborhood to shelter in place.

The SWAT team arrived with armored vehicles about 2:29 a.m. and the man took several shots at the armored vehicles, hitting them and almost shattering a windshield. A Vancouver police officer was inside the armored vehicle at the time, the department said.

“SWAT officers were positioned around the suspect residence, and it appeared he was setting up barricaded shooting positions inside his residence. At approximately 2:36 a.m., officers saw the suspect standing at a sliding door of the residence armed with a rifle and wearing what appeared to be a ballistic helmet and a gas mask,” according to the Vancouver police statement.

At 2:36 a.m. a Vancouver police officer who is a member of the SWAT team fatally shot the man. No law enforcement members or neighbors were injured, the sheriff’s office said. The shelter-in-place order was lifted at 2:58 a.m.

Julio Diaz, who has lived in the neighborhood for seven years, said he was awoken by the first shot. Initially, he thought it was one of his neighbors working with scrap metal in the early hours of the morning, he said. But then, around 2 a.m., he heard more gunshots and he heard law enforcement announce themselves on a loud speaker, he said. Diaz recalled police telling the suspect over the speaker not to reach for a gun.

Diaz said he looked through his back window and saw a flash, followed by an armored vehicle moving closer to the house. Then, he said, he got away from the window out of fear the mayhem could turn in his direction, especially while his wife and two children were home.

“Anytime somebody’s just discharging a firearm without regard for anybody else it’s very scary,” Diaz said. “Innocent people get hurt that way.”

Still, he said he didn’t realize what had happened until he woke up later in the morning and he saw the road closure sign and police tape a few houses down from his.

“I’m very surprised, to be honest with you,” Diaz said. “It’s a pretty relaxed neighborhood. Everybody here is pretty quiet.”

Another neighbor, Carl Proden, agreed he never expected something so serious to happen in his neighborhood. He’s lived there nearly 10 years. He called it, “surprising, shocking, a not-in-my-neighborhood kind of thing, you know?”

Proden said he heard some gunshots, but he, too, didn’t realize the severity of the situation. He said he thought the first shot might have been a firework, but when he realized it wasn’t, he didn’t want to alarm his wife. Instead, he said he closed his windows and trusted police to handle the situation.

“I figured someone was just doing something stupid in their backyard,” Proden said. “Nothing crazy.”

Two Vancouver police officers have been placed on critical incident leave: the officer who shot the man and the officer in the armored vehicle when the windshield shattered, Vancouver police said.

The Vancouver Police Department notified the Washington State Office of Independent Investigations. The Lower Columbia Major Crimes Team, led by the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office, will investigate the shooting. In compliance with state law, Clark County Sheriff’s Office personnel will not be involved in that investigation.

The Clark County Medical Examiner’s Office will release the name of the man who died later.