Cowlitz County law enforcement responds to a barricaded subject after the individual had allegedly gone into his home after shooting at a neighbor’s property and making deadly threats.
An Ariel man was arrested yesterday for allegedly shooting at a neighbor’s home and making threats to shoot the people inside, according to the Cowlitz County Sheriff’s Office.
Around 1 p.m. Feb. 20, 911 received a call about a man, identified as William Black, 59, of Ariel, “shooting in a reckless manner” at a home on Frasier Road. The caller, who lives in that home, could hear something hitting the building as well as Black shouting for the occupants to come out so he could “blow them away.”
Cowlitz County Sheriff’s deputies made contact with Black on arrival to the scene, though he refused to comply with law enforcement and barricaded himself inside his home, according to the sheriff’s office. Deputies obtained a search warrant for Black’s home and called for assistance from the Lower Columbia SWAT Team. Black remained barricaded while SWAT deployed chemical agents, after which the suspect exited and was taken into custody.
The sheriff’s office reported that several firearms were found in Black’s home as well as shotgun shell casings near the neighbor’s residence. Black was booked into Cowlitz County Jail on two counts of reckless endangerment and two of deadly threats.
Alongside Lower Columbia SWAT, officers from the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife had been training in the Cougar area and also helped in response.
