Police kill armed man in Chewelah

CHEWELAH, Wash. – Stevens County law enforcement officers shot and killed an armed man early Friday inside a home east of Chewelah, Wash.

The dead man’s name was not immediately available. Stevens County Sheriff Craig Thayer said an autopsy is planned for early next week to determine the exact cause of death and the man’s identity.

Stevens County has brought in the Spokane County Sheriff’s Office to assist in the investigation, officials said.

Dispatchers in Stevens County received a call about 3:15 a.m. that a man with a gun had entered a rural home at 2503 Flowery Trail Road.

A Stevens County deputy and an officer from the Chewelah Police Department entered the home and found the man, Thayer said. Officers shouted commands at him, but he did not respond.

Multiple shots were fired, Thayer said. It was not immediately clear whether the deputy, the police officer and the intruder each fired shots, or how many.

Both officers have been placed on paid administrative leave pending the investigation. It’s standard procedure that officers are placed on leave after such incidents and that an investigation be conducted by an outside agency.

Across the street, at 2500 Flowery Trail Road, crime scene tape surrounded a fifth-wheel travel trailer connected to a Dodge pickup. Tape also surrounded a Toyota extended cab pickup at that home.

A law enforcement source said that the man who was shot and killed owned the Toyota and the trailer, but not the Dodge. The man apparently planned to stay in the trailer while he worked on the Flowery Trail Road project. The road is a major route to Newport and a ski area, 49 Degrees North.