EAGLE HARBOR — An officer shot and killed a gunman here at about 1 a.m. July 9, ending a standoff that began about four hours earlier when the man allegedly began shooting at the shoreline from a sailboat.
Washington State Patrol Criminal Investigative Division detectives are investigating with the support of the Kitsap County Incident Response Team, the state patrol reported.
Officers from several law enforcement agencies, including Kitsap County Regional SWAT team, went to the scene after shots were reported at about 8:30 p.m. “The subject was randomly shooting at shoreline homes and then at responding officers.,” WSP Detective Sgt. Mark Wilson reported, “After hours of attempting to end the situation peacefully, the subject was approached by officers on boats and ultimately shot and killed when he pointed a weapon at the officers. There were no officers or citizens injured.”
Detectives are seeking any witnesses, especially those who may have taken photographs or videos during this incident. Contact Wilson at 360-473-0141 or email mark.wilson@wsp.wa.gov.
‘Shelter in place and avoid windows’
Washington State Ferries suspended ferry service to and from Bainbridge during the incident, and Bainbridge officials warned residents who live along the shoreline of Eagle Harbor to “shelter in place and avoid windows.”
The Bainbridge Island Review reported at about 10 p.m.:
Officials said a person on a boat started firing a gun Saturday sometime around 9 p.m., and that the gunfire was directed at the shoreline and later, officers who responded to the scene.
The person aboard the boat was believed to be on a boat near Washington State Ferries’ vessel repair yard at the eastern end of the harbor, adjacent to the Bainbridge Island Ferry Terminal.
The shooting was reportedly random, according to those who had heard the sporadic gunfire.
Roughly a dozen bystanders were spirited away from the city dock in Waterfront Park by emergency responders after the shooting began.
Multiple law enforcement agencies have been called in to assist the Bainbridge Island Police Department. An intermittent stream of sirens could be heard heading south on Highway 305 after 9:30 p.m.
Washington State Ferries suspended ferry sailings from Seattle to Bainbridge into Eagle Harbor just before 9 p.m.
Islanders on social media have reported hearing gunfire in the harbor, and some have said they thought it was fireworks.
Wrote one boater: “We docked our boat just before this started — went right past him. YIKES.”