SEATTLE — Seattle police and SWAT officers were in a standoff with a man inside an RV in SoDo who rammed a SWAT vehicle before setting the RV on fire.
PHOTOS: Man sets fire to ex-girlfriend's RV during standoff
Police were called to the RV parked at Airport Way South and South Dakota Street around 4:30 a.m. Tuesday by a 44-year-old woman who said her ex-boyfriend showed up there, violating a domestic violence no-contact order.
Police arrived and found the 43-year-old man locked inside. The woman told officers her ex-boyfriend had gasoline inside the RV and had threatened to burn it.
The incident continued to escalate when the man refused to leave the RV, and a SWAT team arrived.
KIRO 7 Traffic Reporter Tracy Taylor, who was across the street from the standoff, said negotiators were talking to the man before he rammed a SWAT vehicle with the RV. At some point, tear gas was deployed.
Shortly before 6:15 a.m., the man set a smoldering fire to the interior of the RV, according to Seattle police. Heavy black smoke and flames were later seen coming from the vehicle.
Police said suspect jumped out of one of the RV windows at 7:45 a.m., and SWAT officers arrested him.
The fire was put out and the man was taken to Harborview Medical Center with burns and smoke inhalation.
Twelve Seattle police employees and a K9 were treated for smoke inhalation.
The man will be booked into the King County Jail once he is released from the hospital.
Cox Media Group
