SPOKANE, Wash. – Officers with the Spokane Police Department saved a 4-year-old who was inside an apartment with his armed suicidal father.
SPD responded to North Grant Street on Feb. 19 around 10:30 p.m., where a suicidal man was in an apartment texting his ex-wife, implying that she would “never see the child again.”
Officers quickly made a plan to rescue the child and make contact with the man, which was unsuccessful.
After seeing the man through the apartment window and several hours of ignored communication with him, SPD activated the SWAT and Hostage Negotiation Team.
Despite failed attempts with all three law enforcement agencies, SPD prepared to rescue the child.
Before attempts were made to rescue the child, the man peacefully surrendered and opened his front door.
SPD found the child asleep in bed, unharmed, as well as a firearm inside the apartment. The child was examined by medics and returned to his mother.
A criminal investigation is pending, but the man was admitted to the hospital for evaluation.
