Police kill shooter off Washington coast

BAINBRIDGE ISLAND, Wash. — Officers fatally shot a gunman who fired toward the shore from a sailboat in the waters off Washington state, authorities said.

Bainbridge Island Police spokesman Kellie Stickney said the man opened fire at officers responding to calls about 8:30 p.m. Saturday night in Eagle Harbor.

Assistant Fire Chief Luke Carpenter told the Seattle Times that the man had been “just firing randomly” from the boat, docked near the harbor on the island’s southeast corner. He later began shooting at police officers after they arrived, authorities said.

Authorities told residents just after 9 p.m. to avoid the shoreline near the harbor. A little more than an hour later, the city of Bainbridge Island warned residents who live near the shore to seek shelter and avoid windows.

The man stopped firing about 11 p.m., but the standoff continued, according to media reports. Police used flashbang grenades and smoking devices to get the man to surrender, KOMO-TV reported. About 12:30 a.m., he appeared on the boat’s deck, naked, according to a KOMO-TV photographer who was at the scene.

Later, he climbed back into the cabin and emerged with what appeared to be a rifle, according to the reports. A video taken by local media shows him aiming the weapon. That’s when police fired and struck him. The man died about 1 a.m., authorities said. No one else was injured.

The man’s identity has not been released.