South Hill Man Arrested After Firing Shotgun Through Garage: PCSD

SOUTH HILL, WA — A 56-year-old Pierce County man is likely to face several criminal charges after a scary situation in South Hill early Monday morning.

According to the Pierce County Sheriff's Department, a 911 caller on the 12600 block of Tatoosh Road East reported a man inside the home waving a gun around and threatening to shoot others just after 5:30 a.m.

Deputies arrived and quickly began working to get others in the house to safety. As that was happening, deputies said the man a shotgun several times through his garage door. According to investigators, debris hit at least one deputy and the vehicles in the driveway, but no one was seriously injured.

At that point, deputies said only one person had escaped the house, and other family members were still inside, prompting a SWAT response for a possible hostage situation. One person was able to grab a gun the man had set down and hid it before escaping through the front door, according to investigators.

After the woman escaped, the man broke a rear window and attempted to escape out the back of the house, but soon was caught with the help of a K9 team, deputies said. The man was booked into jail accused of domestic violence assault, unlawful imprisonment, reckless endangerment and malicious mischief.

The sheriff's department said staff at nearby Ridgecrest Elementary were notified not to go to school as the event unfolded. The incident was contained shortly before school started.