Community Corner

Chess Game Reportedly Sparks Early Morning Bellevue Standoff

Police closed 112th Avenue Southeast at Bellevue Way to traffic Thursday morning for a standoff with a man in his apartment with a gun. Bellevue Way SE was closed near the Enatai neighborhood.

A Bellevue man barricaded himself in his apartment Thursday morning after a neighbor told police that the man pointed a gun at his neighbor's head after the neighbor went over to play chess, police told Patch.

Update: 5:30 p.m.

A 30-year-old neighbor told police that he went over to the 52-year-old man's unit in Bellefield Manor Apartments, 1830 108th Ave SE, Bellevue, to play chess. The 30-year-old called police around 2 a.m. when the man got upset and pointed a gun at the neighbor's head, said Bellevue Police spokeswoman Officer Carla Iafrate.

The man was taken into custody by Bellevue Police after 10 a.m. about 8 hours after the standoff that closed streets on Bellevue Way SE near the Enatai neighborhood, and the Bellevue Way offramps on Interstate 90. 

No one was injured in the standoff, Iafrate said.

Iafrate said that the man was arrested on suspicion of second-degree assault in connection with allegedly pointing the gun at his neighbor.

"There was a threat to the other subject by pointing the firearm at his head," she told reporters. 

Officers had met the man before, according to a Bellevue Police Department press release, though the details of the previous contact were not immediately available.

Residents of the complex told Patch they were evacuated around 3:30 a.m. and were awoken by the sound of police asking the man to come out with his hands up. The residents told Bellevue Patch the man involved is the building manager of the Bellefield Manor, but Iafrate could not confirm his profession.

Iafrate declined to discuss the police tactics, but very loud bangs could be heard periodically from the corner of Bellevue Way Southeast and 108th Avenue Southeast, and tear gas sometimes wafting onto the street. Triangle Pool, kitty-corner from the Bellefield Manor apartments, canceled swimming Thursday morning, because the tear gas was drifting over the outdoor pool.

A bomb squad robot was also brought to the scene, as well as a King County Sheriff's Office armored vehicle.

Traffic from Bellevue Way Southeast was detoured through the neighborhood and to downtown Bellevue.

Iafrate said the police department thanks the public for its patience with the street closures, which affected the morning commute of Bellevue residents leaving town and workers coming into town.

"We do really appreciate all the patience from our citizens and anyone coming into the city today. I know that's a pretty big hassle. Those are main streets for people to get into Bellevue," she said.

Update 10:50 a.m.

The man was taken into custody by Bellevue Police after 10 a.m. about 8 hours after the standoff that closed streets on Bellevue Way SE near the Enatai neighborhood, Bellevue Police said. Bellevue Way SE and the Bellevue Way offramps on Interstate 90 have now reopened.

Update 8:46 am

Residents of the complex told Patch they were evacuated around 3:30 a.m. and were awoken by the sound of police asking the man to come out with his hands up. The residents told Bellevue Patch the man involved is the building manager of the Bellefield Manor. 

Update 7 am

The standoff closed parts of Bellevue Way SE in the Enatai neighborhood and 112th Avenue SE. The Bellevue Way offramp on Interstate 90 is open only to people using the Park and Ride, according to the Washington State Department of Transportation.

Bellevue Police spokeswoman Officer Carla Iafrate told Patch that police negotiators were at the scene trying to coax the man out of his apartment. 

"We're trying to get him out safely," she said.

Several loud bangs could be heard, and the police released tear gas at the scene.

Bellevue Patch is updating the situation on Facebook and Twitter.

Update: 5:45 a.m.
The man is barricaded in his own apartment at Bellefield Manor complex at Bellevue Way SE and 108th Avenue Southeast. Bellevue Way is open to traffic, though 112th Avenue Southeast is shut. No one else is involved though several neighbors at the complex have been evacuated, police say. 

Police were at the scene at 5:45 a.m., and negotiators could be heard on loudspeakers at the scene.

Original story:
Police have closed 112th Avenue Southeast at Bellevue Way to traffic Thursday Morning for a standoff with a man with a gun in Bellefield Manor complex. No one else is endangered, police say. Bellevue Way is open to traffic.

 Bellevue Patch will update this breaking story.


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