Details of standoff released

Gunman had killed police officer and held two children

SEATTLE — The gunman had already shot a police officer, threatened to kill two children and barricaded himself upstairs in a house for 11 hours when one of the kids, a 6-year-old boy, escaped.

As the suspect held a little girl as a human shield, his movements exposed him to a sheriff’s marksman who targeted him through a window and killed him with a shot to the head, allowing the 8-year-old girl to break free from his grasp and run to safety, authorities disclosed Friday about the killing of Bruce R. Johnson in Tacoma, Washington.

“Once we were able to assess that the kids were still alive, it went into play,” sheriff’s spokesman Ed Troyer said of the SWAT team’s plan to end the standoff in a suburban neighborhood south of Seattle. “He had a choice to put the guns down. We weren’t about to let those kids get hurt.”

The standoff began after police officer Reginald “Jake” Gutierrez, 45, was fatally shot Wednesday night when he and his partner went into the house to investigate a domestic violence call. Gutierrez’s partner returned fire and helped get Johnson’s wife safely out of the house.

Other officers came under fire as they worked their way into the house and pulled Gutierrez out. He later died in surgery.

Police escorted his body to a funeral home Friday as people lined the streets to pay their respects.

The 17-year veteran officer is survived by three daughters and a granddaughter. A fund has been set up to help the children, and the department is overseeing another fund to help with memorial services.