Woman Kills Herself, Ending Standoff Neighbors Say She Was Upset Her Boyfriend Had Left Her For Another Woman

Upset over losing her boyfriend, a Spokane woman shot and killed herself in a South Monroe apartment Thursday, ending a standoff with police.

Neighbors feared Diana Herbst, armed with a .38-caliber handgun, would harm her twin daughters.

At 2 p.m., police cordoned off the area around the Southside Apartments at Ninth and Monroe.

About 35 officers, including a SWAT team, surrounded the building for six hours.

Residents of the apartment building said Herbst became suicidal after her longtime boyfriend ended their relationship, saying he was dating another woman.

Herbst, who was in her 20s, recently had regained custody of her 2-year-old girls, residents said. She had a history of alcohol abuse, they said.

A friend said Herbst called her boyfriend and threatened suicide.

Neighbor Jeff Sproles said officers mistakenly pointed guns at residents of two other apartments before finding Herbst’s door.

Five SWAT team members in black body armor held machine guns and pistols as they waited at Herbst’s back door.

“Diana, come to the door,” an officer called. “Talk to me.”

Just before 7 p.m., officers smashed a window and used a ladder to climb into Herbst’s third-floor apartment.

Minutes later, as dozens of onlookers watched, officers emerged from the front door carrying Herbst’s daughters, clad only in diapers. They were unharmed.

Herbst’s body was found in a bedroom. Authorities aren’t sure when the fatal shot was fired.

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