Man detained after ‘active shooter situation’ in tiny West Seattle village

SEATTLE — A man was taken into custody following an “active shooter incident” in a small village in West Seattle on Thursday afternoon.

Seattle Police Department Detective Eric Muñoz said officers responded to reports of multiple shots fired at the small village in the 9700 block of Myers Way South around 12:40 a.m. Thursday.

In an email to KOMO News, a spokesperson for the Low Income Housing Institute described the situation as “an active shooter situation at the Myers Place housing facility.” According to the LIHI website, the shelter facility is called Camp Second Chance. The site has 50 tiny house units and is “managed by LIHI through a self-managed model in partnership with program participants.”

Muñoz said when officers arrived on scene, staff were trying to get people to safety.

“Essentially people were running for their lives because this was a suspected active shooter scene,” Munoz told KOMO News at the scene.

Muñoz said a man in his 60s began shooting a handgun out the window and out the door of his small home after a staff member gave him and his girlfriend new keys to another residence, presumably to move into another house.

“For whatever reason, the suspect became angry and agitated and started shooting at that worker through the door,” Muñoz said, adding that the information provided was preliminary information.

Responding officers found probable cause for first-degree assault against the man, and a SWAT team was called to the scene because the man had barricaded himself inside one of the small homes. A hostage negotiation team, crisis intervention team and mental health professionals were also called to the scene to assist with the incident, Muñoz said.

Muñoz said it is unknown at this time whether the man’s girlfriend was initially inside the residence when the shooting began, but that she was cooperating with authorities outside near police “while the operation was ongoing.” The gun the man used is believed to belong to his girlfriend, Muñoz said.

Authorities said there were some “difficulties” negotiating with the man, but he eventually surrendered peacefully.

The man was taken into custody on a charge of first-degree assault. However, additional fees may be charged later.

It was stated that there were no injuries due to the conflict.