SPOKANE VALLEY, Wash. – A man died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Saturday night near East Valleyway Avenue and North Raymond Road after a reported hit-and-run and standoff with police.
According to a press release from the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office, deputies were dispatched to a reported hit-and-run in the 600 block of North Bowdish Road at around 11:10 p.m. A caller advised that a blue Dodge pickup rammed into two unoccupied, parked cars and then fled the scene.
A resident who was attempting to follow the Dodge also called 911, and advised police that the driver had hit a mailbox at another location. Near the intersection of North Van Marter Road and East Valleyway Avenue, the man got out of the pickup and approached the caller and “pulled a black, unknown object from his pocket and held it in his hand,” SCSO said. The witness then backed away.
SCSO said deputies located the man at around 11:21 p.m. on East Valleyway Avenue and North Raymond Road holding a gun to his head.
“They gave several commands for him to drop the weapon, as the male suspect told deputies to shoot him, so he didn’t have to do it himself,” SCSO said.
At one point, the man dropped his gun to the ground before picking it back up. SCSO said deputies used “less-lethal options” that were ultimately ineffective.
At 11:22 p.m., the man raised the gun to his head and fired.
He was given medical aid at the scene, then transported to the hospital where he was pronounced dead.
SCSO said the investigation is active and ongoing.
