This story was originally published on MyNorthwest.com
A Kennewick man was shot by police after allegedly charging at them with a knife. In the ambulance after the shooting, 27-year-old Dillon Winters claimed he had killed his 5-year-old daughter with a shotgun. Except, that didn’t happen. The child remains unharmed, according to the Tri-City Herald.
Winters made his first court appearance by video from the jail on Monday. He was seen with a bandage on his left forearm. Because of the suspicion of mental health issues, Deputy Prosecutor Tyler Grandgeorge requested a $500,000 bail. Grandgeorge said that he believed Winters was a danger to society and himself.
The judge said that Winters must speak to a mental health professional before release. He is being held in Benton County Jail on suspicion of first-degree assault.
Here’s what police say happened
Court documents show a resident of an apartment complex called 911 around 10 p.m. on March 20 to report that Winters was outside an apartment and had cut his arm. The caller said he had a towel over his arm and was attempting suicide. Kennewick firefighters and police were dispatched to the scene.
Officers fired at him after Winters allegedly lunged at them.
While being transported to the hospital, Winters began confessing to multiple murders, according to police. He told an officer and a paramedic that he had killed seven people in the past few years, they said. When Winters claimed he had murdered his 5-year-old daughter, police say they began investigating. They found the child safe with her grandparents, where she remains.
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