A wanted suspect who used his mother’s home as a shield while he held several people hostage during a 19-hour standoff left local first responders with little to their advantage.

One thing Hoquiam Police Department officers — and other law enforcement agencies — had, was time.

The people who were originally held captive during the standoff from Tuesday afternoon, March 29, until Wednesday morning, March 30, were able to escape from the mostly cream-colored house in the 2700 block of Queets Avenue, according to Hoquiam Police Department Chief Jeff Myers.

“That left the juvenile alone and contained in the house,” Myers wrote to The Daily World. “This gave us the benefit of cover and time so our officers could control the situation from a distance and not be placed into a split-second decision or confrontation where deadly force would be necessary.”

Since the 15-year-old suspect was alone and had physically barricaded himself — using debris — on the second floor of the single-family home for much of the incident, that gave the officers time to get less-lethal options deployed to the scene, Myers said.

“(It included) the bean-bag launcher and FN-303 Compressed Air less-lethal projectile launchers, which have longer range and accuracy than the beanbag launchers,” Myers said.

The teenaged suspect surrendered peacefully at 10:39 a.m., Wednesday.

Myers was thankful the hostages were able to escape.

“If the suspect had hostages or was shooting at the officers or others on the street or in the neighborhood, it would have forced us to take immediate action to respond to the threat,” Myers said. “No officer wants to shoot or injure a 15-year-old boy.”

Myers said the suspect’s age made for a more difficult situation.

“Juveniles can be impulsive, immature and irrational at times, but still have the physical ability to shoot or kill someone when armed with a pistol,” Myers said.

Myers explained how a gun can change the way police see a suspect who is a minor.

“Although some may see a juvenile as just a ‘kid,’ when he has a gun in his hand and is making threats to kill others, or that he will only be coming out in a body bag after shooting it out with the police, you must take this as a viable and serious threat,” Myers said.

The other thing the officers had to their advantage were some friends and family members who showed up to help get the teenager to give up by talking to him directly.

The teenaged suspect was wanted on arrest warrants, Myers said.

“He also had an existing felony juvenile warrant for his arrest for making death threats,” Myers said.

The suspect, who officers saw through a second-floor window carrying and displaying a handgun during the standoff, was also wearing what police say appeared to be a ballistic vest.

After the suspect surrendered, Hoquiam police officers knocked on the front door to search the house at 11:04 a.m. During the search, they found a .45-caliber handgun.

Myers said he does not know how the 15-year-old obtained the gun. He wants to know how.

“It is certainly concerning how a 15-year-old boy ended up with a pistol,” Myers said.

Myers said detectives are trying to trace the history of the found handgun to see if it has been involved in any other crimes.

In addition to the gun, the officers also found a ballistic vest carrier, which the teenager was wearing during the incident.

“We are not sure where the ballistic vest carrier came from, but it had been stuffed with foam to make it look real,” Myers said.

Through the incident, the suspect was posting videos about the situation online.

“(He) received a great deal of notoriety by posting the standoff on social media,” Myers said.

Myers detailed what led to the incident.

“Apparently, the argument ensued when he showed up at the home and demanded his mother hide him out,” Myers wrote. “We have been at the home numerous times in the past and we are familiar with him and the family dynamics in the home, which have been going on for a few years.”

About 90 minutes before the suspect surrendered, the police cut off the Wi-Fi to the home.

“(This was) to limit the juvenile’s ability to contact others via social media,” Myers said.

Hoquiam Police Department Deputy Chief Joe Strong said police negotiators communicated with the suspect throughout the night in an attempt to secure his safe surrender.

Aberdeen-Hoquiam-Cosmopolis Behavioral Health Navigator, Mobile Crisis, the Hoquiam Street Department and Hoquiam Fire Department assisted during the ordeal.

Hoquiam schools were notified of a potential impact to schools and bus routes. Hoquiam Public Works closed the surrounding streets until just after 11:15 a.m. Wednesday Warnings about possible power outages — between Ontario Street to 28th Street, and Queets Avenue to Cherry Street — were sent to residents.

When The Daily World spoke to Strong, it sounded like the incident was an all-hands-on-deck situation.

“Personnel from all agencies were exhausted during this detail,” Strong said.

Myers said the police — who were assisted by Grays Harbor Sheriff’s Office and Aberdeen Police Department — were prepared to wait as long as needed.

“We made the conscious decision and tactic to take all the time necessary to wait him out,” he said. “We were prepared to go for days on end.”