Child Calls 911 And Hides In Bedroom From Father, Responding Police Shoot The Man
A child’s 911 call led to deputies shooting a man in Washington and taking him into custody.
Pierce County Sheriff's Department said deputies opened fire after receiving a 911 call from a 10-year-old boy near Tacoma on Tuesday night. The child said his father had been drinking alcohol inside their Byrn Mar Apartments in Parkland, according to AP News.
The boy said on the call that his inebriated father had been trying to hit him and his 9-year-old brother. The two children locked themselves up in a bedroom, the police department’s statement said on Facebook.
Deputies responded to the “possible child abuse in progress call" and arrived at the scene at around 8.05 p.m.
A South Sound 911 call receiver heard the suspect state that he had a pistol on him within a few minutes of the deputies’ arrival. “He said he’s going to shoot at us,” a deputy at the scene told the dispatcher.
The deputies managed to safely retrieve the two children by getting them out of an apartment window. The officers fired at the suspect, who then called 911 to report that he had been shot. A negotiator began speaking with the suspect for more than an hour. The man then voluntarily exited the house and surrendered by 9.28 p.m.
A friend and neighbor of the suspect, Martin “Yogi” Roberts, told KIRO 7 News that this was the first time he saw Pierce County sheriff’s deputies outside the suspect’s unit.
“I was asleep,” Roberts told the outlet. “I was taking a nap. And then I heard all the commotion.”
“They’s (sic) on the speaker phone and the sirens, talking ... 'Come out the house,’” the neighbor added.
Roberts claimed he then called the suspect. “He’s like ‘Man, they shot me. They shot me,’” the neighbor reportedly said. “And I’m like ‘For what?’ He’s a good man. He’s a good man.”
The suspect was taken into custody and transported to a local hospital to receive medical attention for his gunshot wound. The suspect was shot in the shoulder, and police said his injury was non-life-threatening.
It is unclear whether the suspect fired any shots at the deputies present at the scene, KING 5 reported. None of the responding deputies sustained any injuries.
“The Pierce County Prosecutor’s Office was advised of the incident,” the police department said on Facebook. “The involved deputy has been placed on administrative leave in accordance with their department policies. This investigation is ongoing.”
![kid-g637bf65f8_1280](https://d.ibtimes.com/en/full/3477188/kid-g637bf65f8-1280.jpg?w=736&f=236d3841bd5956998d9f3d2b0d189e3a)