The suspect in a standoff with Federal Way police died Wednesday night apparently after initiating a gunfight with SWAT officers.
The standoff lasted more than nine hours and ended when SWAT officers entered the home on the 28100 block of 28th Avenue S. and started to search the house for the suspect, officials say.
The suspect, a 36-year-old Auburn man, was found in a crawl space inside the home. But instead of giving up, Federal Way police say the man opened fire at the officers forcing them to return fire.
It is unclear at this time whether the suspect died from officer gunfire or a self-inflicted wound.
The incident started just after 11:30 a.m. when police received a report of a hit-and-run near Military Road S and S 282nd Street. Witnesses at the scene told police the suspect and a passenger in the vehicle, later identified as a 36-year-old Bonney Lake woman, fled the scene of the crash on foot.
After fleeing, the man and woman reportedly tried to steal a car near the home on 28th Avenue S. When officers arrived at the scene, the male suspect broke into the house; the woman was arrested.
No one else was inside when the suspect broke into the home, but Federal Way police say they were notified about weapons in the house and the suspect may have armed himself.
South King Fire & Rescue responded to the house earlier in the afternoon to extinguish a small fire burning at the house. It is not clear how the fire started.
This incident is being investigated by the Valley Investigation Team.
