Police kill man setting fires outside immigration jail

TACOMA, Wash. — A man with a rifle who was throwing incendiary devices at an immigration jail in Washington state early Saturday died after four police officers arrived and opened fire, authorities said.

The Tacoma Police Department said the officers arrived about 4 a.m. at the privately run Tacoma Northwest Detention Center, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security detention facility that holds migrants pending deportation proceedings. The detention center also has held immigration-seeking parents separated from their children under President Donald Trump’s “zero tolerance” policy, an effort meant to deter illegal immigration.

The shooting took place about six hours after a peaceful rally in front of the detention center, police spokesman Loretta Cool said.

Police said the man caused a vehicle to catch fire and attempted to ignite a large propane tank and set buildings on fire. Police said that in addition to the rifle, he had a satchel and flares.

Police said officers called out to the man, and shots were fired.

The man died at the scene. His name hadn’t been released.

Cool said all four officers fired their guns, but she didn’t have specific details of what took place. She said the officers weren’t wearing body cameras, but the area is covered by surveillance cameras from the detention center. She said she didn’t know whether the man fired at the officers.

No law enforcement officers were injured. The four Tacoma officers who fired shots have been placed on paid administrative leave, as is standard in officerinvolved shootings.

A motive for the man’s actions hasn’t been determined, Cool said.

GEO Group, which runs the 1,575-bed Northwest Detention Center, said in an email to The Associated Press that baseless accusations about how detainees are treated at its facilities “have led to misplaced aggression and a dangerous environment for our employees, whose safety is our top priority. Violence of any kind against our employees and property will not be tolerated. We are thankful for the quick and brave action by the Tacoma Police Department, which prevented innocent lives from being endangered.”

GEO Group said the detention center in Tacoma has modern amenities with air conditioning, recreational activities, a bed for every individual and medical care available at all hours.

In November, a Russian asylum-seeker who conducted a hunger strike to protest the conditions at the detention center died by suicide, the Pierce County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled.